With the onset of summer, the number of cases for gardeners is only growing every day. Moreover, it is not planting and organizing irrigation that come to the fore at all, protection against pests and plant diseases is much more important. Miss the time, ignore the warning signs - and you can think that all the hard work was in vain, and you were left without a harvest. I must say that modern gardeners and gardeners are offered a huge arsenal of all kinds of means to avoid such an outcome. Protection from pests and plant diseases is the key to an excellent harvest, which is why this information will be useful to absolutely everyone on the eve of the new summer season.
Classification of modern garden he alth methods
It will be really difficult to figure it out without this. Modern agricultural science has studied and developed a huge number of methods to deal with various ailments that threaten to defeat your garden. Highlyconditionally they can be divided into four large groups. Protection from pests and diseases of the garden can be agrotechnical, and it is precisely the methods from this group that receive especially much attention today. In second place is biological, then mechanical pest control, and finally chemical.
It should be noted that in the garden and in the field it is quite acceptable to use a combination of a variety of ways to control and protect plants. Moreover, it is this approach that guarantees the safety of your crop. But each of the methods separately may not give a full effect.
There is always an alternative
What do you think is the best way to protect against pests and plant diseases? Of course, many believe that the use of pesticides will provide the best effect. However, in Europe, the area of land cultivated with the help of biological methods, where the use of chemicals is completely excluded, is increasing every year. That is, people have already well understood that all the "chemistry" in one form or another ends up on our table in grown vegetables and fruits. Of course, protection from pests and plant diseases is very important, but aren't we paying too high a price for this? That is why, year after year, the area of organic farming is growing. Europeans have introduced strict control over the content of pesticides in vegetables and fruits, and the demand for products grown without their use is only growing.
Prevention measures
The betterpre-sowing work is done, the less problems you will have throughout the summer. Biological protection of plants from pests and diseases involves careful digging of the soil in autumn and spring, as well as the attraction of predatory insects that can protect crops from pests. This also includes planting garden plants according to special schemes. Some crops repel pests, others enrich the soil with substances important for third plants.
Years of research have shown that hoverflies, lacewings and ladybugs can kill about 50% of aphids in crops. Therefore, the gardener has a direct benefit from attracting these insects to his site. For this, special multi-tiered houses are built from reed, peat and wood. Wild flowering plants are planted around, which are especially loved by these insects.
Agrotechnical methods of plant protection against pests and diseases
These are very simple and effective methods that do not require additional costs. They are economical and environmentally friendly. Any gardener knows about them and partially uses them on his site. Empirically, it was found that the best agrotechnical measure will be the cultivation of plant varieties resistant to pests and diseases. This also includes efficient crop rotation and a special tillage system, observing the optimal sowing and harvesting dates, fertilizing and, of course, high-quality weeding.
Choosing varieties
Integrated plant protection against pests and diseases suggests that in order to achieve a good result, you need to apply a whole range of measures on your site. However, too much depends on the variety chosen to bypass this issue. First of all, of course, the resistance of the variety to diseases and insect invasion is of interest. These indicators depend on the anatomical, physiological and biological characteristics of each of them. Varieties also have different tolerances to insect damage. That is, with an equal degree of damage in some, the yield decreases, while in others this is almost imperceptible. Moreover, zoned varieties are always more hardy, so it is recommended to use them on your site.
Crop rotation
Another most effective agricultural technique that will significantly increase the yield. The change of crops grown on a given plot of soil is a way to increase its fertility, as well as an important method for controlling the number of pests and preventing various diseases. If from year to year the same crop is planted on the same bed, then pests, fungi and viruses gradually accumulate in it until their number reaches a critical mass. Plants will now die on the vine, forcing the grower to take action.
Fertilization
Means of plant protection against pests and diseases are presented on the market in a wide range. However, we must start with the fact that he althy soil is able to take care of itself. And in order to keep it in good condition, veryit is important to regularly fertilize, dig and carefully weed weeds. The use of organic and mineral fertilizers when treating the garden from diseases contributes to the formation of seedlings that are more resistant to damage. On well-fertilized soils, seedlings are friendly, plants develop quickly, and there is a discrepancy between the development of pests and the crops themselves. As a result, pests die or simply cannot cause significant harm.
Many gardeners know from their own experience that top dressing with phosphate fertilizers during the laying of eggs by insects significantly reduces the number of pests, for example, superphosphate works effectively against slugs. Careful digging of the soil in autumn and spring is an excellent protection against pests, diseases and weeds. In this case, the pupae and insects are on the surface and die, as well as the roots of the weeds.
Garden pests. Learning to defend yourself
To protect your garden or large industrial field from diseases and pests, you need to carefully weigh the needs of the chosen crop and study its main enemies. This will already give a certain scheme of action, which can become very effective. The very first step is to sow the crop at the optimum time. This will allow you to get high-quality seedlings that are resistant to various diseases and pest damage. For example, early sowing of radish provides an opportunity to protect the crop from the onion fly.
Schemes and seeding rates are also important. On a certainarea should be located the optimal number of plants. This will ensure their normal growth and development, and hence resistance to disease. The seeding depth also plays a role.
But that's not all you need to know. Why is it so important to get rid of all the weeds that appear in the garden? Because it is weed grass that is a favorite place for the accumulation of a variety of organisms. Here they successfully breed and attack cultivated plants around. Weeds feed on earth fleas and aphids, spider mites and other insects, not to mention the fact that weeds are a habitat for numerous bacteria.
Fight disease
Ways to protect plants from pests and diseases can be painted indefinitely. However, first of all, it should be noted those that can be used on any site, are accessible to everyone and effective. These are physical measures to combat bacteria, viruses and pests. These methods are based primarily on the use of high and low temperatures and changes in environmental humidity.
The soil is spilled with boiling water and frozen, covered with a film and heated under the sun or using special heaters. If you warm up the greenhouse with the help of heating elements in early spring, then pests from all over the site will gather there. All that remains is to turn off the heating devices and open the greenhouse for the night, so that they all die from a change in temperature.
For the little onegarden plot is very effective mechanical method of insect control. These are all kinds of traps, glue and rag rings, water bottles, the neck of which is smeared with syrup, and other devices. Mechanical methods include the destruction of pests by shaking, manual assembly, the destruction of winter nests, that is, everything that we do on our site in the summer.
Biological control of plant diseases
Pests are an obvious nuisance, you understand the causes of what is happening and notice the consequences. In the case of diseases (bacterial, fungal, viral), it is not always possible to make a diagnosis quickly. And this is true not only for a huge field. Protecting indoor plants from pests and diseases also requires a lot of attention, knowledge and skills, because sometimes it is enough to miss just one day, and it will be impossible to save the plant.
It seems to be not worth thinking about for a long time: we take one bag from fungal diseases in the store, the second one from viral diseases, plus we spray it with an insecticide, and we can sleep peacefully. However, keep in mind that some of this "chemistry" will still end up on your table along with the fruits. Therefore, it is better to try to avoid the disease using other methods, leaving the above for last.
Biological methods of pest control rely on the use of living organisms and their metabolic products. You can use parasitic and predatory insects, they are specially bred forthese goals. Today, biological weapons are gaining the greatest popularity. These are bacteria, fungi and viruses that are pathogens of insect diseases. However, it should be noted that with the help of such methods, ornamental plants are most effectively protected from pests and diseases, that is, those that are grown indoors. They are suitable for greenhouses and greenhouses, but in the fields they must be combined with other methods of protection. Today, special microbiological preparations are being developed to combat specific pests, but so far their choice is limited (Lepidocid, Nemabakt, Planriz).
"Heavy artillery": "chemistry" in our garden
Despite numerous condemnations, this method still remains the most effective and versatile. Stock up on several bottles of drugs ("Agrokiller", "Betarus", "Ditox", "Pikus", "Enlil", "Cirax", etc.), plant and cultivate the garden at the right time. That's all, it remains only to enjoy the harvest. To date, the choice of such products is very large, they all have a common name - pesticides. This group also includes insecticides, that is, means for combating parasitic insects. For the most part, they are universal, that is, they are able to suppress the development and reproduction of any pest that eats a plant. They are divided into several groups. These are contact insecticidesintestinal, fumigating. Treatment with these drugs is carried out both for prevention and to combat the problem.
Chemical plant protection against pests and diseases also works well against fungal and viral diseases, which are often the cause of the largest crop losses. To do this, use insecticides, each of which acts on the pathogens of a particular disease. Keep in mind that these drugs must be used in advance. Their effectiveness drops sharply if you try to save already diseased plants.
Fungicides are designed to treat seeds to protect future plants from a range of diseases. Acaricides work against garden mites, this group of insects is often resistant to other drugs. If your garden is often raided by rodents, then in addition to treating the trunks with lime and laying out traps, you can use special rodenticides. This is a chemical fight against mice and moles ("Goliath", "Fentolatsin"). Bactericides work great against bacterial garden diseases. Finally, in order to protect the garden from feathered "robbers", special avicides ("Averfos", etc.) were invented.
Of course, you need to be careful with "chemistry", but science does not stand still and develops new ways to protect garden plants from diseases, weeds and pests that would have minimal harm to human he alth. Modern pesticides have a very low percentage of toxicity. When used inat the right time and in the quantities recommended in the instructions, the body is less harmed than, for example, from caffeine. However, this does not mean that all other methods of garden protection (agrotechnical, biological) do not have the right to life. Only their optimal combination will give an excellent result.
Summarize
Among the variety of options presented above, each of you will be able to find the one that is best suited for solving the tasks facing him. One has a home greenhouse, the other has a rose garden. Someone cultivates vegetables in the garden for their family, and someone is engaged in the cultivation of grain on an industrial scale. In any case, the plant is always under the threat of attack by pests or the development of diseases that threaten the complete destruction of the crop. Therefore, competent protection of plants from pests, diseases and weeds is the main task of every gardener.
