Ways to control pests and plant diseases. Biological methods of pest control of agricultural crops

Pests and types of control

Common grass aphid. The pest is light green in color with a bright green stripe along the back, body length is 3-3.5 mm. Damages crops.

Control measures: resistant varieties. Rotation of crops, application of fertilizers. Chemical - the use of insecticides.

Cereal or bread bug. The body length of adult bugs is 4.7-6.4 mm, the body is elongated, pale green. Damages crops.

Control measures: as in ordinary cereal aphids.

Oatmeal and barley flies. Midge 1.5-2.7 mm long, with a black shiny body. Legs are black, paws are yellow.

Control measures: resistant varieties.

Bread beetle. The length of the beetle is 14-16 mm, pitch black. Causes harm on crops of wheat, barley, rye, some types of oats and corn.

Control measures: timely harvesting of grain in a short time, excluding shedding of grain.

Bread bugs. The kuzka beetle has a length of 12-15 mm, the red beetle is 8-12 mm, the crusader beetle is 14-17 mm. Damages wheat, rye and barley.

Control measures: agrotechnical - alternation of crops, harvesting in a short time, peeling the soil to a depth of 10-12 cm. Chemical - the use of insecticides.

sawyers. Length 7-9 mm. Sawfly eggs are white, oval, 0.8 mm long. Damages crops.

Control measures: resistant varieties that do not have an internal cavity. Agrotechnical - alternation of crops, optimal timing sowing, early harvesting, soil stubble. Chemical - the use of insecticides.

Colorado beetle- the main pest of potatoes. Its size is 9-11 mm. In spring, the female emerges from the soil and lays shiny orange oblong-oval eggs 2-4 mm long, attaching them in groups of 18-20 on the underside of the potato leaf. The larvae take 24 days to develop. From 1 to 4 generations of the pest breeds per year.

potato scoop- This is a butterfly with a wingspan of 28-40 mm. Prefers damp shaded areas. The butterfly lays its eggs in the stems and they die.

Locust- an insect that destroys the green mass of plants, much larger than its own weight. Locusts completely devastate the fields. The Italian locust and the Siberian bull are the most harmful of the locusts.

The main methods of combating diseases and pests of agricultural crops are:

Agricultural method;

Organizational and economic activities;

biological method;

Mechanical method;

genetic method;

Chemical method;

integral method.

Agricultural method is based on the use of measures aimed at creating favorable conditions for growth and development cultivated plants, which help to increase resistance to pests, inhibiting their development, reducing the number of pests, diseases and wasteland.

In the system of organizational and economic activities use the following methods:

Mandatory alternation of crops in crop rotation;

Deep autumn plowing;

Cleaning fields from post-harvest residues;

Correct choice of sowing dates;

Creation of new varieties of plants resistant to diseases;

Short harvest time;

The introduction of microelements into the soil and mineral fertilizers;

Liming of acidic soils.

biological method is based on the use of living organisms or their metabolic products in order to prevent or reduce the damage caused by harmful organisms.

The basis mechanical method the use of various methods and devices against pests is laid down, preventing their movement and resettlement, and contribute to concentration in special places with their further destruction.

physical method. The use of physical phenomena (low or high temperatures, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet rays, ultrasound).

genetic method aims to change the functions of reproduction of insects by chemical sterilization or under chemical influence leads to a sharp reduction in offspring, or the appearance of mutants with signs of deformity (underdevelopment of the oral apparatus).

chemical method It has a chemical effect on pests, on individual plants, on pathogenic microbes. Such chemicals are called pesticides. Groups of pesticides: insecticides and acaricides, nematocides, radencitides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators and stimulants, aphicides.

Insecticides and acaricides are used to control harmful insects and mites. Nematocides are used to control harmful nematodes. Radencitides are used to control mice, rats and other rodents. Fungicides are used to control fungal diseases of plants, herbicides - to control weeds, aphicides - aphids.

integral protection plants is the fight against pests, taking into account economic thresholds, their harmfulness and the use of natural factors that limit them. Elements of integrated systems: high agricultural technology, preservation and activation of the action of entomophages, antagonists, pathogens, the use of active measures to suppress the number and development of harmful organisms.

The most promising is the biological method, but the chemical method with the use of pesticides is still widely used, causing great harm to the natural environment.

With pests and diseases in summer cottages, a person has to fight for several centuries. For example, ancient Egyptian frescoes testify to the devastating locust invasions, ancient Greek scriptures describe rust, plant cancer, late blight, etc. In order to preserve the harvest, all kinds of chemical preparations and means of protection have been developed for a long time to this day. However, not all crops can be treated with chemicals and pesticides without causing harm to those who then eat them. That is why it is more relevant in agriculture biological control method.

Advantages of this method in agriculture

One of the main advantages of bio-crop protection in agriculture is its environmental friendliness compared to chemicals and pesticides. They are found in 45% of the total studied crop of grain, vegetables, fruit crops.

Another reason why biological protection is given priority today is the increase in the resistance (resistance) of pests being destroyed to the means used. As organisms adapt to chemicals, the dose and frequency of treatment must be constantly increased. This leads to a decrease in the benefits of the product and an increase in its danger to human health.

The essence of this pest control in agriculture

The method of biological protection of crops from pests is to attack them with a natural enemy, namely: toads and frogs, birds, moles, lizards, hedgehogs, shrews and bats. Even among insects, there are useful "killers" of pests that inexperienced gardeners destroy. For example, a beetle beetle.

This insect quickly crawls around the site on long legs, it is usually caught and destroyed in jars of kerosene. In fact, the ground beetle feeds on caterpillars, their larvae and small bugs. On the garden plots it is this beetle that destroys the moth, which affects the bushes of blackcurrant and gooseberry.

Another insect that is often ruthlessly destroyed by humans is the lacewing. Everyone saw her not only in the gardens, but also in houses and apartments. An insect with almost transparent, thin, pale green wings flies into the light in the windows. If you take it in your hand, there is a disgusting smell. In fact, adults are predators that eat mites, aphids, coccids, and some small midges. Representatives of this family are used on large agricultural lands, where crop damage brings enormous economic losses.

Another insect, harmless at first glance, is a ladybug. This is the most dangerous predator, voracious and eating 200 aphids in one day (adult). Larvae destroy up to 70 aphids per day. No most powerful insecticide can deal with aphids as effectively as ladybugs.

Birds

Feathered inhabitants do an excellent job with pests in agriculture. They bring great benefits, despite the fact that some berries and fruits can still be destroyed. There are ways to protect yourself from the harmful behavior of birds, but they should still be attracted to the site. This is a whole science that requires knowledge of the characteristics of the life of these representatives of the fauna.

The most useful in summer cottages are titmouse, swallows, sparrows, rooks and starlings. In the garden, such inhabitants as the wagtail, woodpecker, redstart, goldfinch and siskin are most preferred. Birds that prefer to build nests in among shrubs are considered useful - thrushes, vertices, carduelis. To do this, on the site it is necessary to plant a hedge from wild fruit bushes(barberry, blackthorn or wild rose). Firstly, it is the beauty and decorativeness of the site during their flowering. Secondly, it is a bait for pollinating insects. And thirdly, useful birds will settle here.

Sparrows are birds that are able to get food in any place - on trees, bushes and soil. They nurse offspring, feeding them with larvae, caterpillars and worms. In spring, the sparrow destroys the flower beetle, a pest of the apple tree. But as soon as strong chicks fly out of the nests, the birds gather in flocks, and it is already necessary to put stuffed animals from them. The sparrows will be replaced by starlings and rooks.

Swallows - birds that destroy insects in flight, eat caterpillars, butterflies, midges, bugs, aphids. Swallows breed twice, in spring and at the end of August.

Therefore, you can be sure of constant protection against pests. To attract swallows, small shelves are mounted under the ledges of the roofs, so that it is easier for them to make nests.

Tit - protects the garden in both winter and summer. It is appropriate for them to build titmouses, attracting them to the site to protect against aphids, caterpillars, and beetles.

Starling is a famous "biological" way of protection against aphids, caterpillars and locusts. They are attracted by the construction of birdhouses. Rooks are useful inhabitants of the garden in early spring. As soon as the snow melts, they eat larvae, caterpillars, and worms that have overwintered in the soil.

In addition, the rook does not mind eating field mice. Fumbling in the soil, they dig up and eat wireworms, beetles and other harmful beetles. To attract rooks, an old dry tree, snag, any dead wood is suitable.

Thus, if in agriculture their natural enemies are used to control the pest, then natural regulation is possible on the site, minimizing the harm from chemicals.

It is not necessary to repeat how much pests interfere with the conduct of a correct and profitable agricultural economy. In our time of "advanced" agricultural technologies, crop losses from pests in developed countries are 15-25%, and in backward countries they reach 65%. If we reduce them to 5% here and there, this would be more than enough to solve the global food problem - 3/4 of the world's population is chronically undernourished or does not receive good nutrition. In the Russian Federation, pest control measures for large areas well developed - the USSR was an advanced country in this respect. But in a small private farm, the destruction of plant pests is still being carried out by poorly effective methods of large agricultural technology, which are not very suitable for a strip of land from patches of land of 4-100 acres and up to 2-3 hectares. There are no fundamental changes in this case, but the choice and procedure for using certain means and measures against pests are changing. How exactly - this issue is mainly devoted to this publication.

Organizational events

Pest control in a small private household per unit of land area is generally more expensive than systemic control over large areas, however, there are more ways to reduce costs due to the lower specific (per unit area) cost of manual labor. This circumstance requires proper organization protection of plants from pests, which is excellent for large areas. To do this, it is necessary to take into account, firstly, the change in the priorities of the harmfulness of freeloaders; secondly, the dependence of the organization of combating them on the order of land use of the site.

Enemy Priorities

In a small striped strip, the priorities of pests are significantly shifted in terms of the degree of harm they cause. On large areas, it is possible, for example, to suppress the breeding grounds of pests and thereby reduce the cost of preventive treatment of crops and plantations. But if you are straining yourself in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle, and at the same time your neighbor is strenuously whipping a disgustingly smelling liquid product obtained from last year's potatoes, then your efforts are in vain. At the same time, bioprotection of large areas requires such costly measures as nursery-insectariums for pest exterminators and the organization of their delivery of resettlement; beneficial insects can be easily and free of charge attracted to a small area, see below. Integrated pest management in small areas is both complicated and facilitated by "striped in streaked" - growing a variety of crops on the site. On the one hand, this makes it possible for pests with a complex life cycle to complete it without making long-distance migrations. On the other hand, by correctly planting the same productive plants, it is possible for the same pests to create difficult and even unbearable living conditions.

In connection with these and some other not so significant factors, pests of plants of different systematic groups are distributed according to the degree of harm they cause in a small private area in the following way:

Arthropods: insects and arachnids (mites) - 75-85% and up to 95%;
Terrestrial mollusks (slugs, snails) - 12-17%;
Vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles) - 5-15%
Other animal organisms - the rest.

What you need to know about arthropods

Almost all terrestrial arthropods, in their sometimes very complex life cycles, have a resting phase (egg, larva of a certain age, pupa, or sometimes an adult breeding phase - adult) designed to endure unfavorable conditions. In the dormant phase, pests are very little vulnerable; some are able to survive in a vacuum in the cold of space and withstand doses of radiation in the primary circuit of a nuclear reactor. But upon awakening from the dormant phase and for some short time after its metamorphosis into the next, pests become extremely vulnerable.

In middle latitudes, the awakening of the dormant phases is clearly timed with the spring awakening and the beginning of the sap flow of plants, which at that time are overflowing with readily available nutrients. Therefore, spring preventive treatment from pests in a small area will be much simpler technologically, more efficiently and will require less consumption of cheaper drugs than urgent summer treatment during an outbreak, see Fig.:

Features of insects

In insects life cycle clearly divided into a feeding (larva) and generative-dispersal (adult) phases that do not have visible sexual characteristics. In higher insects with complete metamorphosis (Insecta-Holometabola), there is also a clearly defined resting phase - the pupa. The larva, as a rule, is a long-liver, accumulates a supply nutrients for reproduction and therefore gluttonous. It also overwinters in many especially harmful species (white butterflies, moths, codling moths, leafworms), and the pupa is only a protective cocoon during the metamorphosis of the caterpillar larva into an adult butterfly. Imago do not live long; in some species (mayflies) - less than an hour and even a minute. The period of appearance of the imago in sight is called summer; larvae most often live secretly or try to disguise themselves, or are protected by poisonous secretions. During the flight, the adult seeks and consumes a small additional food necessary for the formation of the genitalia; the males of many species and the females of some do not feed at all. Sexually mature adults immediately begin to look for partners for mating, and females after copulation begin to lay eggs. Having ensured the continuation of the genus, adults most often die; species in which adults overwinter and multiply repeatedly are rare. From here follow essential principles and features of pest control in the garden:

Land use order

Large tracts of arable land are generally used in the same way, regardless of who owns them, how and on what grounds - they are too valuable. With small plots, the situation is different, and the choice of means and measures for pest control is determined, among other things, also by the order of land use:

The plot is one's own, inheritable and freely alienable on legal grounds at the discretion of the owner;
The site is used on the rights of a long-term or automatically renewed lease. Improvement, redevelopment, partial development and reclamation of the site are provided for by the lease agreement or their agreement with the landlord (or a team of co-owners of the entire land mass, for example, a dacha or garden partnership) is provided for;
The same, but the lease is intended exclusively for agricultural production;
The lease is short-term, as a rule, narrow-purpose, determined by the lessor, for example, 2 hectares for 3 years for onions.

In the first 2 cases it is expedient to comprehensively apply methods of long-term action (agrotechnical and biological), and use chemical control methods (see below) only in case of pest invasions.

In the 3rd- it is better to focus on modern biological products, also see below.

And finally, in the 4th case there is no other way out, how to intensively apply other than biochemistry and pesticides. This is a predatory method of land use, depleting the land, saturating it and the crop with harmful substances, therefore, recommendations for this case are not considered further in the article.

Note: in all cases, spraying perennial plantings in the spring for prevention from pests does not hurt at all, because. the accumulation of the chemicals used in the crop and soil is either minimal or completely eliminated.

Fighting methods

In accordance with the above organizational measures, specific pest control methods are selected based on the increase in their cost, complexity and physical labor intensity, combined with short-term and long-term effectiveness, as well as the impact of pest control agents on the marketability and nutritional quality of products:

Agrotechnical- no additional financial costs are required. The labor costs are significant, but they are greatly extended in time and do not stand out against the general background of the work on caring for the site. There is no short-term (within the season) effect, but the long-term effect is strong, long-lasting and stable. There is a post-effect: a properly cultivated, but subsequently abandoned site up to 3-5 years. There is no negative impact on product quality; positive strong.
Biochemical- expensive, but give both short-term and long-term effects. Labor costs are small, high qualification of the worker is not required. There is no positive impact on the products; negative is possible with a large (and very expensive) overdose or completely illiterate use.
Chemical- cheaper than biochemical ones, but not by much. Although the preparations for chemical pest control are much cheaper than biochemical ones, many times more of them are required. Complexity and labor intensity are high, concentrated in time. A serious qualification is required from the employee. positive influence for products no; negative on the conditions of small strips (including within the site) is inevitable.
Biological- give medium strength short-term and long-term effects; from pest invasions do not save. Both effects are unstable, but significantly reduce the cost of other means and increase their effectiveness. A good knowledge of the biology of both pests and their natural enemies is required from the worker. There is no effect on product quality. Labor intensity is either low, but noticeable against the general background, or high short-term, see below.
Mechanical- labor-intensive, extremely inefficient. May be useful in some cases, also see below.

Note: for chemical and biochemical pest control, free folk remedies can be successfully used, see below. However, in terms of the strength of the effect on a person and the ability to spoil the harvest, “natural” biological products and pesticides are in no way inferior to purchased ones. Therefore, they must be prepared and applied using all the precautions necessary in each specific case, observing dosages and processing modes.

About special firms

From what has been said above, it is already clear that chemistry and biochemistry on a properly cultivated small private plot is regularly required only in the spring for preventive maintenance, and in the season it may be needed sporadically. Therefore, it makes complete sense to find out - and not whether enterprises or individual entrepreneurs specializing in the treatment of plants from pests operate in your area. If so, then a one-time treatment, or until the pest outbreak is under control, is likely to be less expensive than doing it yourself with over-the-counter chemicals and will be done by an experienced technician. Your costs for special equipment are excluded in this case. For spring prevention, it is best to cooperate with neighbors: it will be cheaper for a hundred square meters, a tree, and a yard, and the likelihood of migration of freeloaders from outside will be negligible. About preparations for spring preventive treatment of the site, see the video:

Video: about plant protection products

Agricultural technology

Agrotechnical methods have been developed and improved over the centuries and along the way were automatically worked out in such a way as to make plantings less accessible to pests. In modern agricultural technology, this task is set purposefully as an integral part of the development of new agricultural technologies. Therefore, a plot cultivated according to all the rules is rarely subjected to pest invasions. This method has one drawback - you need to spend at least 2-3 years of painstaking work, then calmly wait for the harvest and only occasionally use specialized means of dealing with overeating. Of the specific methods of agricultural technology, focused specifically on pest control, the following can be noted:

Optimally dense planting / sowing of plants;
In addition to paragraph 1 - new agricultural technologies aimed at creating conditions unfavorable for pests;
Rotation of crops on the land area;
Correct watering technique;
Proper composting of waste.

How to plant from pests

Too dense planting (on the left in the figure), focused on maximizing the use of land productivity, gives an increase in yield by 3-4 years, but already during this period pests have to be fought with strong chemistry. Then the productivity of the site drops, and the pests disperse with might and main: under the dense canopy of their favorite plants, they manage to create foci that are hard to reach for cultivation.

The tree in the center in Fig. looks chic, but is more prone to attack by pests than its "colleagues" in the garden, because. open to all winds and perfectly visible to migrating pests. Landing on the lawn without trunk circle(at least) creates favorable conditions for overwintering of dormant phases of pests. If they attack this tree, it will be very difficult to get rid of them.

The optimal way of planting (sowing) is when the adult, fully grown plants in the row slightly touch each other with the most prostrate parts, and you can walk along the free part of the row spacing with a tool without breaking branches and leaves, on the right in Fig. Arrays of crops with similar physiology and agricultural practices (sowing/planting dates, schemes and frequency of care) should not touch each other. It will not be possible to “squeeze out” everything from one’s acres at once in this way, but on average, for more than 3-5 years, the productivity of the plot (and the profitability of the commercial one) will be higher due to lower costs for agrochemistry, fertilizers and less dependence of yield on weather conditions.

Note: right there in Fig. new way cultivation of fruit trees - dwarf trunk. The collection per unit of land area is higher than in the garden, and the codling moths do not eat fruits, even if you crack.

A strip in a strip

Cucumbers - plant away from plants that exude a lot of phytoncides (see below) and pull a protective net over the cucumber area. Not window, special for cucumbers! In addition to protecting against the spreading pests, the mesh stabilizes the illumination and microclimate under it, and the likelihood that the cucumbers become bitter becomes extremely small. set traps for slugs.
Cabbage - planted next to cucumbers, fenced off with a strip of tall umbrella aromatic herbs: dill, fennel or a permanent planting of currants. Also set traps for slugs.
Plant strawberries on the other side of the cucumbers, fencing off with a strip of other annual seasonings or currants. And here to set traps for slugs.
Plant potatoes not in a continuous array, but in wide strips, alternating them with plantings of umbrella plants that moderately exude phytoncides, for example, carrots. Colorado beetles do not like umbrella phytoncides, and carrot fly and larvae of weevil beetles (wireworms) do not like nightshade. At the same time, nightshade phytoncides exude green parts of potatoes also moderately, and plants will not oppress each other with them.
Tomatoes that strongly exude nightshade phytoncides should be fenced off from other plantings with onions, garlic, and table beets.
Plant carrots mixed with potatoes, onions, eggplants. These plants together are more successful in repelling pests than separately, and do not oppress each other.
Vegetable (sweet) pepper should be planted in the very light sparsely, so that in a row between completely overgrown bushes there are gaps of approx. into the palm Do not plant peppers or any other nightshades nearby.

It is not necessary to plant the entire plot in this way: after all, at least some semblance of crop rotation is required. Otherwise, pests will nest in inhabited places in such a way that you can’t bring them out. It is necessary to conditionally divide the entire plot into separate arrays for annuals, link them with plantings of perennials and, as it were, move the landing pattern around the entire plot in a circle. This will not be a crop rotation, and you still have to maintain soil fertility, but pests will like such a site no more than a sleek cocotte - Khrushchev with wet ceilings.

An example of a scheme for alternating plantings for pest control is given in Fig. Conventional icons indicate or relatively permanent plantings: a garden, an array of strawberries, plantings of black and red currants, raspberries, and a vineyard.

It is also not necessary to plant aisles in the garden: it will be worse for both plants and it will be better for pests. Raspberries, blackberries, and other root (more precisely, stolon) aggressors should be planted at the border of the site; Preferably in the backyard. Legumes are planted either in a free place, or, to start soil reclamation, instead of a part of other crops in depleted areas. They can also be planted between potato plots instead of carrots.

Note: stolon is an underground organ of vegetative reproduction. It stretches from the mother plant, first horizontally, then turns up and forms the root and ground parts of the stepson plant.

Watering

Most amateur gardeners simply do not think about irrigation techniques. Like - you would also give instructions on how to chew and swallow. Meanwhile, as a preventive agrotechnical method of pest control, it is very important.

Water the plants as in fig. crossed out, in no case should not be. Plants in summer do not need a shower, but free transpiration - the evaporation of water from leaves. Arranging for them a scent, which we ourselves so desire, we thereby encourage the plants to open their stomata wider than necessary and release more specific volatile substances. By the smell of which pests find their food. And soaked integumentary tissues are easier to gnaw through. It is even easier - if sunburn appeared on the plants from improper watering.

Plants should be watered under the root, on the right in fig. Especially - fertilizer, therapeutic and preventive watering, if only the application scheme is appropriate. the drug does not provide otherwise.

Compost

Compost from crop waste (tops, fallen leaves, etc.) - good fertilizer, which allows to reduce the cost of agrochemistry and maintain the quality of the soil on the site for a long time. But improperly prepared compost can become a source of permanent pest infestation and nullify other methods of dealing with them.

Composting in a pile or pit almost never completely kills pest germs. But the compost bin is the same as on the left in fig. - a resort for freeloaders. It's not that he squinted: such a box, firstly, is too well ventilated. Secondly, plants that can become a food base for a new generation of pests come close to it.

In a properly constructed compost bin (in the center), predominantly anaerobic processes take place, in which the dormant phases of pests do not survive. It is even better to use EM composting instead of the usual one, especially since you can prepare preparations for it yourself. Waste for composting must be carefully transported in a wheelbarrow with high sides, and not carried in a heap: it is enough for several individuals of the wintering phase to fall out of it into a good, for them, place - and an outbreak of reproduction in the summer is almost guaranteed. After all, no one will spray the entire area in the spring - such prevention will come out too expensive.

Biochemistry

Biochemical preparations from pests of the garden and garden are divided into:

The range of bacteriotoxins from pests on sale is very wide. There are both specialized products and complex preparations that act on several types of pests; for an overview of bacterial pest control, see the videos:

Video: about biological agents for pest control

It is advisable to buy complex bacterial preparations from pests when several of their species attacked the site. The case is quite frequent, for example, the cabbage whitefish often "cooperates" with its harmful activity with bears and wireworms. In fact, of course, they do not agree, it’s just that a plant already weakened by one species becomes an easy prey for another. If a pest of one species, or several, is precisely identified, for which there is no complex preparation, you need to take special monopreparations - when buying a complex, you pay for expensive substances that will disappear to no avail.

Apply bacteriotoxins strictly according to the instructions. Although they are quite specific, an overdose can at least give the fruit a nasty taste, but health problems are also possible both after processing and after consumption of the product. In addition, there are no absolutely precisely directed bacteriotoxins, just as, for example, not only people suffer from cholera. An overdose can kill the beneficial insects living on the site, and there are many of them, see below, and their role in protecting against pests can be great.

Homemade biochemistry

Biochemical pesticides, similar in action to bacteriotoxins, can be prepared independently in the form of herbal infusions and decoctions. Their disadvantage compared to purchased ones is less selectivity of action, so they need to be used more carefully. Another disadvantage is that pests get used to them. If the same species needs to be washed out regularly, it is necessary to alternate preparations from it from different plants. Finally, free herbal pest control is only effective in a well-groomed and properly cultivated area, see above.

Herbal biochemical pest control is a separate big topic. In the review article, we will limit ourselves to a list of what ate from which it helps:

Larkspur is high - from leaf-eating adults and larvae.
Calendula (marigolds) - from ticks in the form of a decoction or repellent (see below).
Burdock large - from leaf-eating on cabbage and root crops.
Onions and garlic sowing - a decoction of their husks effective remedy from many types of pests.
Dandelion medicinal - from aphids, ticks, flower stink bugs.
Wormwood bitter - from many types of pests.
Chamomile - from ticks and aphids.
Tobacco dust and crumbs of shag tobacco - from pests of many types.
Tomato (green tops) - against cruciferous fleas, cabbage white caterpillars and herbivorous moths, mites and aphids.
Yarrow ordinary - from spider mites, aphids and bedbugs.
Horsetail - from many types of pests.
Hellebore (very poisonous!) - from many types of pests.
Horse sorrel - from ticks, aphids, and, especially, from bedbugs on radishes and other cruciferous.

Castrators and pheromones

These are fundamentally new pest control products that work 100% selectively and effectively, do not pollute the environment at all and are effective where other methods are powerless.

For example, the imago of butterflies corrosive (top row in the figure) and odoriferous woodworm (bottom row) does not take DDT either. Nobody eats them, and their caterpillars - they are poisonous and stink disgustingly.

Years are invisible, but their caterpillars literally devastate trees and shrubs from the inside (on the right in the figure). So far, the only way to deal with them is the complete removal and destruction of the affected plants, with root roaming. Pheromone traps with castrators can once and for all solve the problem of dealing with such “ideal pests”. Unfortunately, pheromone traps with chemical castrators are still at the stage of development or experimental verification. Hopefully it won't drag on for too long.

Repellents

These are volatile substances that repel pests. An example for us is dibutyl phthalate from mosquitoes and taiga midges. The use of synthetic repellents is expensive because they quickly disappear. But instead of purchased drugs, you can successfully use living plants:

Basil, marigolds (taygetes, tegates), lavender, rosemary, thyme - from the Colorado potato beetle and slugs.
Mustard - from slugs.
The same, from the bear and other underground pests - white mustard or, worse, annual legumes.
Calendula - sown between rows from ticks.

Note: mustard is a very effective remedy against slugs, see, for example, the plot:

Video: ordinary mustard against pests

Poisons

There are even more varieties of pesticides against pests of cultivated plants than biological products; the use of both in horticulture and horticulture is regulated by the State Catalog of Pesticides and Agrochemicals. You can download it in .pdf format from here: agroxxi.ru/goshandbook, and in the form of an electronic reference from here: agroxxi.ru/goshandbook/yelektronaja-versija-spravochnika.html.

Opinion of plant breeders-experimenters about what agrochemicals are possible, with correct application in small areas, considered safe, see next. video:

Video: safe pest control

And about preparations for insect pests - in another one:

Video: poisonous pesticides

Pesticides against pests are produced organic synthetic (mainly organochlorine and organophosphorus) and mineral - based on organic compounds. Mineral pesticides are used more as part of various mixtures. Additional components of mixtures enhance the effect of the main toxin on pests and reduce it on plants and other living beings. As a rule, the spectrum of action of both organic and mineral pesticides is wide, they are effective against pests of many species and act quickly; often instantly. In the event of a massive invasion of pests, the use of pesticides is often the only way to save at least part of the crop, because. the action of biological products begins hours and even days after treatment.

The origin of the most effective mixtures of mineral pesticides is often folk; the composition is verified and verified by many years of experience. For example, the well-known one is developed on the basis of French folk recipes. There is also a Russian recipe for a mixture of pesticides against garden and garden pests different types:

and Chinese:

Note: vegetable components in mixtures of pesticides are used only as suppliers of poisons, without biochemistry.

When using pesticides, it is not enough to carefully follow the dosage, treatment regimens and, in general, instructions for use. The same drug used according to the same scheme in the same dose in the same place may at different times of the year, or at the same time under different external conditions, either be ineffective, or accumulate in the ground or in the harvest. Beneficial insects on the site will almost certainly die along with the pests. Therefore, to work with pesticides, sufficient personal experience and the intuition developed on its basis. If they are not available, it is better to contact a specialized plant protection organization, see above.

Biomethods

The role of riders (pos. 1) and ladybugs (pos. 2) in the destruction of pests is well known. However, they are very selective: they destroy one or more harmful species. Solitary wasps, and among them - pill wasps, feed their larvae with paralyzed insect larvae of many harmful species. Single wasps sting painfully, but, unlike harmful public ones (see below), they are not annoying and non-aggressive. Therefore, if you find a nest of a pill wasp (pos. 3) near a vegetable garden or garden, do not ruin it: on suitable place these helpers of ours nest from year to year.

Very voracious predators that exterminate many harmful insects are predatory ground beetles. Among the ground beetles there are both harmful and very harmful, but it is not difficult to recognize a predatory beetle by its strong build, powerful running legs protruding far beyond the body, clearly demarcated parts of the body - head, chest, abdomen - sharp, strong, forward-directed jaws and how would be slightly wrapped up the edges of the chest, pos. 4-6.

Lacewings are clearly visible due to the characteristic golden sheen of the eyes. Their imagos are graceful, most tender and harmless creatures (pos. 7). But the disgusting-looking lacewing larvae (pos. 8) are highly qualified specialists in the extermination of aphids: one lacewing larva in its life devours them more than 2-3 ladybugs along with their larvae.

If you start an artificial reservoir on the site of a depth sufficient for water lilies, plant it with plants and properly care for it, then dragonflies will either be or not. But camels (pos. 9) and winged flies (pos. 10) will definitely appear on the site. Their larvae live in a clean calm water, uninhabited microlife. Adult insects are slow, just some “brakes”, but appearances are deceiving: they are voracious predators. And what is especially valuable in our case is that they specialize in egg-laying pests, and they know how to find the most hidden ones.

The same "brake", but for its prey (adult insects) a ferocious merciless monster - a praying mantis, pos. 11. Praying mantises are not picky about their habitat, there would be someone to eat there. Praying mantis can be caught, brought to the site, released, they will take root and give the next generation. But, firstly, catch carefully, brushing it into a box - praying mantises pluck painfully with their grasping legs. Secondly, each needs a separate perforated box with a lid (praying mantises fly well): these seemingly thoughtful philosophers are bloodthirsty cannibal hermits to each other. The praying mantis hunting area is 0.5-0.75 acres, based on this, the amount needed for resettlement is taken.

Scolia and rhinoceros

In the southern regions, the rhinoceros beetle greatly harms the roots of plants. Its larvae, the size of a decent sausage, burrow up to 2 m deep, and therefore you can only get them with napalm, but they live for several years and are able to completely gnaw out the roots of a large tree.

Males (on the left in the figure) and females (in the center) of the rhinoceros beetle are hardy to both biological preparations and pesticides; pupae (right) are even more hardy and well camouflaged. Years are short, nocturnal; individuals of different sexes find each other high in the air in flight, so that pheromones are not “fought” either. Having mated, the males go to die quietly with a sense of accomplishment (at this time they are easy to find on earth), and the females, having hastily fed, burrow into the ground, lay their eggs and set off after their life partners. Another perfect pest? But outbreaks of mass harm from the rhinoceros beetle are rare and more human-caused.

In the same places where the rhinoceros beetle is found a little later than its summer, the years of a solitary giant scolia wasp are observed. Its appearance inspires the ignorant with literally mystical horror, but in fact the English names of this huge monster killer bee (killer bee) and black hornet (black hornet) are completely unfair: for a person, the giant scolia is completely safe, see fig .:

Her sting is the thinnest absolutely specialized tool in order to paralyze the rhinoceros beetle larva and lay her testicle on it; Skoliya finds its prey and digs for it at any depth. The larvae of the scolia first eats the fat body of its prey, then the less important ones, and only before pupation the vital organs, so that it grows on fresh meat - the victim larva remains alive all this time. One scolia destroys up to 2-3 dozen larvae of the rhinoceros beetle, so do not stop the scolia from doing their useful work for them, for us.

Mechanics

Mechanical destruction of pests is carried out by manual collection, trapping and destruction of nests. "Mechanics" is always accompanied by "chemistry" in the form of a jar of kerosene, a syringe with dichlorvos (see below), etc.

Manual collection is effective in one single case: when bronze beetles raid ornamental flowers. Bronzovki eat away stamens and ovaries. The marketability of cut flowers is completely lost from this, and there is nothing left for beauty. Bronzovkas migrate in flocks of up to several dozen individuals, so picking them manually from a flower bed, flower garden or front garden is real.

Note: if you find large, visible pupae in the area with clearly visible wing marks, but no clear footprints (see picture on the right), do not touch. These are large pupae. beautiful butterflies- sailboats, peacock-eye, hawks, etc., which do not significantly harm and therefore almost everything is already in the Red Book. The pupae of harmful butterflies are small and well hidden, while the wings of beetle pupae are not outlined, but the legs are clearly distinguished.

Traps are used for vertebrate pests (rat traps, mole traps) or, simple pheromones, for insects with a short summer. Pheromone traps without castrators are sold, but they are specialized for one type and are quite expensive. They are used in places where there are regularly known harmful species for years.

A curious trap is effective against slugs in their favorite time - a warm cloudy night. A small basin or a large bowl is dug into the ground up to the whisk and a saucer with ... beer is placed in it. The trap is set in the evening, and early in the morning they shovel out of it in a bucket of slugs that have drunk on the insole and do with them what should be done with pests.

Nest destruction is used against social paper wasps and guide insects, see below. Wasps are annoying, they eat grapes and berries, and hornets are also dangerous: a sting by 3-4 female hornets at the same time can kill an adult strong person.

An angry wasp swarm can also sting to death, so it is better to call specialists to destroy wasp nests. If they are not in the district, you need to act in this way:

Prepare in advance a 20 ml syringe, 0.5 l of a strong solution of dichlorvos, thicker double-sided tape, ordinary tape - a tape and a couple of garbage bags.
Morally prepare yourself to act quickly, decisively and in cold blood.
Track down the nest and the notch(s) on it.
Follow until late at night (2-3 o'clock in the morning) when the last insects return to the nest and fall asleep soundly.
Quickly, carefully and tightly seal tapholes double sided tape- thin wasps will immediately gnaw through.
Inject 3-4 syringes of dichlorvos into the nest through the paper wall.
Immediately pull a trash bag over the nest, wrap it around the neck of the nest and secure with tape. If this is not done, then the paper that has become sour from the solution will spread and a lump of half-dead insects will fall out. Some in the air come to their senses before committing reprisals against you.
When the rumble and stirring in the nest stop, wait half an hour, cut off the neck (neck) of the nest from the support, immediately pull the bag over it, twist it, close the twist with tape and send the entire nest together with the bag to the fire. Throw it into the fire from afar: the vapors of dichlorvos are flammable, and the cotton will not be weak!

Helpers of enemies

There is a large group of insects that either actively contribute to pest attacks or passively contribute to them. Such insects are called provocateurs or conductors of pests. Little attention is paid to the fight against provocateurs / guides of harmful insects in large-scale agricultural technology. Meanwhile, the fight against pests as such without the destruction of provocateurs/guides is much less successful, and on a small strip, where a systematic approach to plant protection over large areas is impossible, it often turns out to be completely unsuccessful.

Insect provocateurs / guides most often also harm. Ants, as you know, themselves eat berries with a thin skin, and settle and graze aphids, pos. 1 and 2 in fig. If in nature ants are unconditionally useful, then on cultivated land they are also unconditionally harmful. Anthills on the site must be destroyed mercilessly.

Insects - provocateurs and conductors of insect pests

Long-tailed beetles and related groups, which are usually collectively called weevils (weevils actually are a special family of beetles), do not harm much in small private areas. In food, they are not picky, but they prefer to lay eggs in large areas of fodder plants, because. give over the summer up to 3-4 generations. The same beet weevil can devastate a beet field, ignoring its own plantings in nearby summer cottages. But, receiving a little additional food from private traders (pos. 3), bugs - guides of pests give "beacons" in the form of the smell of juice of chopped fruits to already dangerous specialized pests of these crops. The pennits (pos. 4) produce the same effect after the larva leaves its bubble house.

A curious specimen in pos. 5 - skopion. The “terrible” tail is nothing more than an imitation: scorpions are not poisonous; they have nothing to sting or bite a person with, and they themselves are insects 2-3 cm long. best use enthusiasm: scorpions are the most active provocateurs of pest invasions. If such creatures are seen on the site, prepare pesticides - an invisible and imperceptible cloud of fruit vapors is already floating up. For migrating pests, it is a clear signal: “Hey, lads! Well, everyone is here! Here the ball is full!

Other well-known provocateurs of plant pests are flies that feed on plants. Non-specialized hoverflies (syrphids) masquerading as bees, wasps and bumblebees; these, on the contrary, are useful as pollinators. No, flies sucking plant juices. They are generally recognizable by their red eyes and yellow or yellowish abdomen, but the common gray fly also belongs here, see fig. Fluke flies are exterminated with pesticides.

In general, the fight against harmful organisms in small private land ownership and land use can only be successful with a systematic approach with the right choice means and methods of pest control. And, of course, subject to knowledge of the basics of their biology and the action of the means used.

Most species of ladybugs are voracious predators that feed on harmful insects. About 100 species of ladybugs live in Russia, all of them small size(body length of adults from 1 to 18 mm), differ in shape and degree of body flattening.

The most common species of the family is also very useful - the seven-spot ladybug. Beetles and larvae of the seven-spot ladybird feed on aphids, scale insects, and plant mites. Insects are quite voracious: in one day, a ladybug larva eats up to 70, and an adult beetle - up to 200 aphids. In addition to the seven-spot ladybird, more than 20 species of ladybirds can live in the garden. Cows, laying eggs, attach them in places of accumulation of sucking insects, and the emerging larvae immediately attack the prey. No insecticide, even a biological one, can cope with the suppression of aphids as successfully as a ladybug.

From early spring to late autumn, predatory ground beetles are found in the fields, which destroy eggs, larvae (caterpillars), pupae and adults of many harmful insects. One ground beetle per day can destroy three to five caterpillars of the gooseberry moth, up to ten caterpillars of the rapeseed sawfly, up to 100 larvae of gall midges. No less useful are the larvae and adults of ladybugs. They actively exterminate aphids, mites, scale insects and other pests. A seven-spot ladybug destroys up to 200 aphids per day, and a small stetorus beetle - up to 210 spider mite eggs. The predatory larvae of lacewings and syrphid flies intensively destroy aphids and their larvae.

The method of intra-areal dispersal consists in the relocation of entomophages within their range from old breeding centers of the pest to new ones, where the entomophage has not yet had time to accumulate. One of the pests of the tea bush is the tea pulvinaria (Hydroptera order, the family of grasshoppers and false scale insects). In the fight against it, the predatory hyperaspis beetle is settled, which destroys the eggs and larvae of the pest.

In the microbiological method of control, pathogens of pests are used - bacteria, viruses and fungi. Back in the USSR, the bacterial preparation entobacterin (powder gray color, which is used as a suspension for spraying fruits in the fight against gnawing pests). More than 50 species of insects are known to be effective against; it is used, for example, in the fight against apple moth, hawthorn, cabbage moth, American white butterfly. However, it must be remembered that biological preparations in high concentrations can be harmful, and some substances, even in minimal amounts, can be deadly. Therefore, you need to use them, following exactly the manufacturer's instructions. Plant protection products contain, in particular, the following substances of natural origin:

Bicol- acaricide. Prepared on the basis of the bacterial strain Bacillusthuringiesisvar. thuringiesis. Used in the destruction of spider mites. Has an intestinal effect on pests.

Bitoxibacillin- acaricide. Prepared on the basis of the bacterial strain Bacillusthuringiesisvar. tenebrionis. Used in the destruction of spider mites. Has an intestinal effect on pests. It differs from the previous preparation in some additives (various special wetting agents and adhesives are added to them).

Boverin is an insecticide based on the fungus Beauveriabassiana. Used against thrips. Plants are sprayed with a 1% solution of the drug.

Verticillin- an insecticide prepared on the basis of spores of the fungus Verticillium lecanii. This drug is used in the fight against whiteflies. Its action lies in the fact that the conidia or blastospores of the fungus penetrate the integument of the insect and penetrate into its body, growing and affecting its organs. Fungi Verticillium lecanii reproduce especially well when high humidity air, so before using the drug, you should thoroughly spray the soil in the pot. Before using the drug for 12-24 hours, it is soaked in water to accelerate the germination of spores.

Gaupsin- a bioinsecticide and fungicide, a two-strain broad-spectrum preparation intended for treating gardens and kitchen gardens, as well as for protecting indoor plants from fungal diseases and various pests (curly, black spot, powdery mildew, bacteriosis, late blight, septoria, black rot, aphids, spider mite, caterpillars, thrips, etc.). The manufacturer claims that the effectiveness of gaupsin in the fight against fungal diseases is 90-92%, with pests 92-94%. The biological product is not toxic to humans, animals, fish, bees, does not accumulate in plants, soil. In addition, gaupsin is compatible with many pesticides (except for Bordeaux liquid and other copper-containing chemicals - after their use, the first treatment with gaupsin is only after 21 days). The drug is diluted with water room temperature at the rate of 200-250 g of gaupsin per 10-12 liters of water. Use only freshly prepared solution. Freezing of the drug is not allowed.

Many harmful insects are destroyed by insectivorous birds (tits, flycatchers, starlings and rooks), as well as frogs, toads, lizards, moles, shrews, hedgehogs and bats. Of the birds of prey, the most useful view is one of the small falcons - a kestrel that eats rodents and insects. The common buzzard, or buzzard, mainly feeds on rodents. Most species of owls are useful.

The tasks of the biological method of weed control also include improving the development and growth of cultivated plants and increasing their competitiveness in relation to weeds. Well-developed, fast-growing crops, evenly occupying the sown area, are able to inhibit any weeds. In this regard, cultures are conditionally divided into three groups:

1) highly competitive with respect to weeds (winter, perennial herbs, silage grasses of continuous sowing, buckwheat, peas);
2) with average competitiveness (spring wheat, barley, oats, fodder);
3) with weak competitiveness (corn, potatoes, beets, vegetables).

biological methods protection of crops from weeds are diverse. First of all, they are aimed at breeding and releasing insect species into agrocenoses that could reduce the number of plants that are undesirable on agricultural plots, and in each region, depending on natural conditions, their bioregulators are common. A very promising method in the fight against weeds is the use for this purpose of highly specialized phytophages - herbiphages, which, in turn, are divided into

- rhizophagi - consumers of roots;
- philophages - consumers of leaves;
- antophages - consumers of flowers;
- palynophages (pollinophages) - consumers of pollen;
- carpophages - consumers of fruits and seeds.

Leaf beetles can act as herbivores.

About 450 species of these insects are distributed on the territory of Russia. Herbiphages also include weevils, humpback beetles, higher hymenoptera (larvae of many species of chalcides and gall wasps are active specialized phytophages).

The effectiveness of herbiphages in the fight against weeds primarily lies in the fact that they prefer certain plants, therefore, the possibility of their spread to cultivated plants is excluded. It is possible to use several groups of herbiphages at once, for example, Hymenoptera, whose larvae damage seeds and stems from the inside, and leaf beetles, since these groups of insects are not direct competitors to each other and increase the destructive effect on the plant. This method of protection allows you to completely abandon the use of herbicides in the fight against field thistle, many types of thistles, cornflowers, cruciferous, milkweed, buttercups, bindweed, shepherd's purse, horsetail, creeping couch grass, sharpworm, some types of chaff, ragweed, i.e. against most of those weeds for the destruction of which herbicides are usually used. When using herbiphages, much less money is spent than in the manufacture of herbicides. The work on the use of herbiphages is mainly aimed at studying the species composition (fauna) and ecology (primarily forage specificity of different species), as well as selection, as a result of which it was possible to increase the resistance of some crops to herbicides.

Currently, an effective method has been developed to combat ragweed, which is not only a field weed, but also a strong allergen. Used to suppress this plant agrotechnical and chemical methods are sometimes not effective enough, and often unsafe for environment due to its toxicity. Against ragweed, it is recommended to use the drug bialafos, which is a producer of Streptomyces hygrospopicus actinomycetate. This drug does not accumulate in the soil and is quickly decomposed by its microflora. Bialafos is used in the phase of 6-8 leaves in the weed at doses of 0.25-0.5 kg/ha, while the death of the weed is 55-78%. Increasing the dosage to 1-2.5 kg/ha leads to the complete extermination of the weed, and the re-growth of the weed does not occur until the very end of the growing season.

Highly effective in the fight against ragweed using the biological method is the ragweed leaf beetle, specially imported for this purpose from the USA in 1985 and acclimatized in the vicinity of Krasnodar. With the number of ragweed leaf beetle 400 beetles/m 2 complete destruction of the weed is achieved. This technique is most effective in spring, when ragweed sprouts are in the 4-8 leaf phase.

A method using the mustard nematode is being developed against creeping mustard. The conducted experiments (Ivannikov A.I.) showed that when artificially infecting clumps of mustard with this nematode, up to 50-60% of plants died, and the rest were affected by the nematode to one degree or another.

Biological methods include the use of antibiotics. For example, the antibiotic blasticidin-S is successfully used against Egyptian broomrape on watermelon plantations (application at a concentration of 0.0008% with double spraying with an interval of 20-35 days); 67% of broomrape plants were destroyed, and the germination of its seeds decreased by 16 times.

For the complete destruction of perennial and juvenile weeds, agrotechnical and biological measures, unfortunately, are not enough, their combination with modern chemical agents - herbicides is necessary.

The constitution of the International Organization for Biological Plant Protection defines this method as "the use of living things or their metabolic products to prevent or reduce the damage caused by harmful organisms."

Most biological methods are based on:

firstly, the natural interconnection of living beings in nature, the relationship between predator and prey, and the resulting natural balance of harmful and beneficial organisms for humans;

secondly, the reaction of pests to chemical or physical pathogens and irritants, such as sound, light, hormones that inhibit the development of harmful organisms, and sex hormones - pheromones that allow you to regulate the activity of pests.

An agricultural plot is a living organism, a microcosm created in a limited area, but not cut off from the surrounding world. Close to natural, natural methods of managing and arranging the economy without strong chemicals, as well as the species diversity of plants on it, are the main prerequisites for the gradual establishment of a balance between desirable and undesirable living organisms. If the natural balance is achieved, we will be relieved of the need to deal with the invasion of pests, since their population will be controlled and maintained at a constant level by birds, insects, and other organisms that feed on pests.

Biological measures have a number of undeniable benefits , such as:

- relative safety for the environment;
- damage to a particular type of weed, i.e. high selectivity;
- safety for people (consumers of products and operators).

Against the backdrop of growing concern about the problem of chemical pollution of the environment, these advantages of the biological method look quite enough. promising to keep investing Scientific research dedicated to this issue.

Thus, before making a decision on the use of one or another herbiphage for biological control of weeds, serious and comprehensive studies and thorough verification should be carried out.

On the other hand, along with undeniable advantages, the biological method has a number of serious shortcomings :

- the difficulty of finding the right pest or pathogen;
- the risk of spreading pests or pathogens and their damage to cultivated plants, as well as other types of wild plants;
- the effect of the herbiphage on only one type of weed, while the botanical composition of weeds in crops is usually wide range various types;
- the inability to use in limited areas, since the reproduction of the released pest or pathogen and their resettlement is beyond human control;
- vulnerability of biological method agents to pesticide treatment;
- High cost of development.

Biological pest and disease control methods have been developed to minimize damage to crops from the use of pesticides. The most effective of them include breeding non-viable individuals, the use of phytoncides and biobaits, the use of entobacteria, as well as attracting useful animals and birds to the site.

Based on the experience of controlling pests and plant diseases, several methods have been developed over the years. The main ones are agrotechnical, chemical, mechanical and complex biological methods. Each of them can be used selectively or in combination with each other. The nature of the use of these methods depends on the conditions and characteristics of growing crops, as well as on the specific tasks facing the farmer.

The essence of any of the biological methods of plant protection is to artificially increase, use, and also attract to the site beneficial organisms, which improve the structure and increase soil fertility, prevent the development and spread of diseases of cultivated plants, and destroy insects.

As a result of research over the past 10 years, gardeners and gardeners have faced the need to increase the viability of crops without the use of chemicals to control insect pests and diseases. This is due to the fact that harmful organisms that destroy plants grown in household plots have acquired resistance to pesticides at an incredible pace. In addition, the use of chemistry can unwittingly harm beneficial insects and plants, the disappearance of which is associated with the emergence of new dangerous ones.

In this article, you will learn about the most effective biological methods for controlling insect pests and plant diseases.

An effective biological way to control insect pests

One of the most effective ways to control pests and diseases in the biological method is that specially selected non-viable individuals of dangerous pests are propagated in the laboratory and released. Mating of these insects with normal individuals does not produce offspring, and the number of pests is sharply reduced. Scientists have achieved even more noticeable results by using special substances that can affect the genetic code of insects.

Virtually every biological control of insect pests and diseases is aimed at keeping the population below the so-called economic threshold of harmfulness. In some cases, the impact is carried out directly on individuals in the population, while in others, an indirect effect is produced, reducing the rate of reproduction of the pest. To determine to which group an event should be attributed, it is enough to find out how it will affect the growth of the population.

Biological protection of plants using phytoncides

Phytoncides are biologically active substances formed by living plants, due to which the growth and development of bacteria, protozoa and microscopic fungi are suppressed or destroyed. Phytoncides are fractions of volatile substances that are secreted by plants. They can exist as a complex of compounds (terpenoids, metabolites). Essential oils are characteristic representatives of phytoncides. They are obtained from plant materials using industrial methods.

Phytoncides for biological plant protection play a significant role in maintaining the immunity of crops, as well as in the mutual influence of living organisms in biocenoses. In some plants, there is an increased release of these substances after damage to the stem, leaves, branches or trunk. In addition, phytoncides used as biological pest and disease control agents can act at a distance. For example, these include substances secreted by the leaves of pine, eucalyptus and oak.

Such an evergreen plant, as common in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres of the Earth, can perfectly scare away different kind pest insects. Foreign scientists conducted research and found that eucalyptus leaves contain odorous natural carbohydrates, as well as phloroglucinol derivatives, which repel unwanted insects. Moreover, the proportions of these components can be different for different parts of the same tree. Researchers explain this fact as the result of genetic mosaicism, when genes in different parts of the plant are responsible for the production of different substances. This peculiar "mechanism of self-preservation" the plant has developed over a long period of its evolution. It allows trees to continue photosynthesis during periods of mass invasion of pests.

The range and strength of the antimicrobial effect of volatile substances used for biological control of insects and diseases are quite diverse. It is known, for example, that phytoncides of such horticultural crops, like horseradish, and red pepper, are capable of destroying in the very first seconds the simplest of many species, as well as bacteria and lower fungi. Volatile phytoncides help get rid of ciliates and insects. Poisonous to humans are volatile ash and.

The protective function of phytoncides for the biological control of insect pests and diseases is manifested in their ability not only to destroy, but also to suppress the reproduction of unwanted microorganisms. In addition, these substances stimulate the vital activity of microorganisms that act as antagonists of pathogenic species for a particular plant and, of course, repel unwanted insects.

Compost as a means of pest and disease control

In general, any plant resists pests and diseases, and the resistance of crops is the higher, the better developed and stronger they are. This is possible only when the plants are in suitable conditions for them and receive good nutrition. To improve the latter, it is most beneficial from both an economic and environmental point of view to use compost as a fertilizer. This is a very effective means for the biological protection of plants from diseases and insect pests.

On any site, it is imperative to allocate space for a compost heap. For this purpose, you can use wooden box without a bottom with a volume of approximately 1 m3 or an old metal barrel- also without a bottom.

The barrel is placed in a place well lit by the sun and painted in a dark color: so it heats up better and retains heat. Approximately at a distance of 15-20 cm from the ground in a barrel, a series of holes is made using a drill or punch.

To accelerate the formation of compost in a barrel, its contents are poured in layers: plant residues and food waste, manure, ash and soil. Layers are repeated until the barrel is full. If necessary, the contents of the container are watered, it should be moderately moist. The filled barrel is covered plastic wrap with holes pre-cut in it for air intake, fix.

After 1 year, the contents of the barrel is a good fertilizer. If you plant cucumbers or pumpkins in a container with compost, you can additionally decorate a personal plot, while it is not necessary to cover the container with a film. Planting a plant in a compost bin will also prevent its contents from drying out. Such containers can be placed in two or three convenient places.

In the event that you need to get a unique fertilizer so that the fruits have an excellent taste, you should pay attention to such a creation of nature as an earthworm.

Other biological pest control measures

Genetic method of plant protection.

The complex of protection of cultivated plants from pests by biological methods also includes the genetic method. Using chemical substances insect pests are sterilized and then released. However, after mating, pests are not able to leave offspring.

Biological baits for crop protection.

In addition, there is a method of biological baits. However, it is currently in its development stage. The meaning of these biological plant protection products is that the extract from the odorous glands of the pest butterfly is placed in a trap. Males, attracted by the smell, rush to the bait, after which they fall into the trap.

Bacterial method of plant protection.

In Russia, entobacterin is successfully used - a drug against ringed and pine silkworms, as well as golden tails and hawthorn caterpillars. The disadvantage of such a biological pest control measure is that it only has the desired effect when there is a significant number of insects and if infected and healthy organisms are in active contact with each other.

Zoological method of plant protection.

One of the important biological methods is zoological, which involves the use of useful animals and birds. This method has a solid theoretical base developed in our country. In addition, Russia also has sufficient practical experience application of this biological method of pest and disease control.