Mustard against the Colorado potato beetle is often used by gardeners when growing potatoes and is sometimes much more effective than some special chemicals.
Colorado potato beetle
Most of all, perhaps, garden plantations suffer from this particular pest. The Colorado potato beetle feeds on potato leaves, which leads to a disruption in the development of tubers and can cause serious damage to the crop.
The Colorado potato beetle begins its destructive activity during the flowering period of potatoes. Its delicate greenery is especially susceptible to damage at this time. Ignoring this pest can reduce the yield at their summer cottage by more than half. To combat such insect pests, many special chemicals are sold today that are effective against the beetles themselves, as well as their larvae. But in order to reduce the amount of toxic substances used in growing potatoes and get a he althy harvest, many gardeners prefer to treat plants with folk remedies that have been proven over the years and are safe for humans. Very often for this purposecommon mustard is used. Many other means are also effective against the Colorado potato beetle.
Natural insecticides
Infusion of stinging nettle will help not only protect plants from pests, but also serve as a good top dressing. To prepare it, take the stems and leaves of young nettles, carefully chop, fill half of the bucket with this mass and add water to the top. When the infusion ferments, it is added to water for watering potato beds in a ratio of 1:10.
Often used by gardeners to treat potatoes is a product that contains mustard and vinegar. Onions, birch tar, elecampane roots are also effective against the Colorado potato beetle.
You can prepare an insecticidal concentrate from horsetail and dandelion. Two hundred grams of grass should be poured with a small amount of water, closed tightly with a lid and boiled over low heat for 15 minutes. Then strain and apply to spray the tops of potatoes, using 500 ml per bucket of water.
Up to 80% of pests can kill walnut leaves soaked in water (2 kg per 10 liters). They are harvested from autumn and stored until the new season. Processing of potatoes is recommended 20 days before the mass appearance of beetles.
Mustard against the Colorado potato beetle
There are many recipes for preparing an effective means for protecting vegetables from pests, prepared with mustard. In addition, it can simply be planted between rows, and during flowering, tornspread out with the root of the plant in the grooves near the potatoes. Mustard is good at repelling beetles, causing them to fly around the place sideways.
An effective remedy is factory mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle. Reviews of gardeners using such a tool note the complete absence of pests in the area after processing. To prepare the solution, you will need dry mustard (1 pack) and 100 grams of table vinegar. Dilute all this in a bucket of water and sprinkle the tops of the potatoes. Processing is carried out twice - at the beginning of the growing season and after the appearance of a large number of insects.
You can prepare an aqueous mustard solution when 200 g of powder is poured into 10 liters of water and the resulting mixture is infused for 12 hours.
Useful properties of mustard
Dry mustard against the Colorado potato beetle has been used with success, but this is not its only use in the garden. It is planted not only as an insect repeller. In addition, mustard is also known for a host of useful qualities. It grows very quickly, which does not allow weeds to develop. The structure of the soil at the place of planting mustard is noticeably improved, it does not leach. Garden lands are cleared of scab, phytophthora. In addition to being effective against the Colorado potato beetle, mustard can also scare away garden pests such as slugs, codling moth and wireworm.
In the fall, this plant makes a good mulch cover to protectsoil from freezing. In summer, its succulent leaves can be used to make salads and sandwiches.
How to grow mustard
Mustard seeds, although small in size, are easily captured due to their voluminous shape, so it is convenient to plant them. Planting is carried out in rows, leaving a distance of 10 to 15 centimeters between the seeds. Strong deepening is not necessary. On average, the depth should be 1–1.5 centimeters. After 3 days, the first shoots may already appear.
Also, mustard is often planted to fertilize the soil. Against the Colorado potato beetle (reviews of gardeners confirm this), it is also very effective because it repels the smell of this pest during the season.
There is no need to take special care of mustard. This plant is very unpretentious and needs only regular watering and loosening the soil.
Agricultural practices
Mustard and vinegar against the Colorado potato beetle are considered the most effective remedies for treating potato bushes. But there are other ways that can be used in the fight against this pest. Onion peel is a good deterrent for the Colorado potato beetle. When planting potatoes, add 2 tablespoons to each hole.
The phytoncidal substances that beans secrete also repel the beetle, so it is useful to plant legumes in the same row as potatoes. Proper crop rotation will also help protect the crop from pests. It is not recommended to plant annually in one areacultures close in origin.
It doesn't really matter which method is used (onion peel, nettle infusion, planting repellent plants or mustard and vinegar) against the Colorado potato beetle, gardeners say that this allows not only to save the crop, but and your own he alth, as well as protect the environment from harmful and toxic pesticides.
