For several years now, the White Kuban has been resettling in the Kuban (Metcalfa cicada - Metcalfa pruinosa Say) around our region on all plants. This is a very dangerous pest of the garden, which feeds on the sap of the plant, weakens them, destroying our crops. White cicadas, the control measures of which seem to be not complicated, but can take a lot of time from gardeners. It is necessary to fight it, as, among other things, it carries diseases from one plant to another.
Types of Cicadas
These insects got their name because of the ability to chirp. I can’t imagine a summer evening in the Kuban without “singing” cicadas. These loud “tickling” sounds are produced by singing cicadas - rather large insects, similar to flies with transparent wings stretched back. But this is only one kind of cicadas. There are rose plants, they are much smaller.
And we’ll talk about the white cicadas - a relatively new pest for our region. The exact number of species of cicadas is unknown, but there may be more than 100,000. So, insects with this name of different sizes, colors can be found on all continents.
For the first time I saw an adult white cicadas on the Black Sea coast, in Lazarevsky. On the way to the sea, I saw a tall fig tree, at the foot of which there were a lot of overgrown. My attention was delayed by small white pimples on young green stems. It seemed that someone purposely dashed white droplets of paint on all branches.
She touched one and ... recoiled in surprise - a white oblong droplet suddenly either jumped or flew, crouching next to a leaf of figs.
But about two weeks before, while still at home, at her dacha she noticed on different plants a white fluffy coating on the branches, leaves of raspberries, figs. I sent a photo to a gardener from Timashevsk - he enlightened that it was metcalf - a white circadian.
It turns out that in my garden I saw the larvae of a white cicada, and somewhat south, on the Black Sea coast I saw already adult pests.
The invasion of the last 2-3 years threatens the entire Krasnodar Territory. I learned from information on the Internet that for the first time in our country, a white circadian (native to North America) was discovered in 2009 in Lazarevsky, where it was brought with seedlings probably through the seaports of Yeysk and Novorossiysk.
I think that measures to combat the white cicadas that gardeners can use are not particularly dramatically able to change the situation. And now you will understand why.
What plants can harm a white circadian
If I now begin to list which plants this pest is dangerous, then the list will be very long - there are more than 300 of them. What is the most preferred pest? This is boxwood, linden, maple, wild rose, apple trees, plums, grapes, raspberries, gooseberries, figs, potatoes, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and many others.
Can gardeners be able to apply measures to combat white cicadas on all plants? Of course not!
The main harm to garden and garden plants is caused by larvae, piercing the leaves with a proboscis from the underside and sucking out the juice. This leads to the appearance on top of the leaves of small white or yellow dots, which sometimes merge into large whitish spots. The immunity of plants decreases, they become weak, their growth slows down, the fruits may fall from the tree, without ripening or not form at all.
On tomatoes, the pest lays eggs at the bottom of the trunk, just above the ground. Not immediately and notice. The same thing on celery, parsley, eggplant, bell pepper. But if not processed, the larvae will begin to suck the juice from the trunks of vegetable plants. Raspberries, blackberries, figs lose their attractive appearance after its appearance. On my dogwood, I notice larvae on the back of the leaf and on the stalks of the berries.
The appearance of plants is lost due to sticky secretions of the circadian plant. How is this dangerous? The so-called sooty mushrooms develop on them. And this is already a source of fungal diseases. Some sources call the cause of sticky spots the juice of plants, which begins to drip intensively on the leaves as a result of active nutrition of the circadian plant. Like it or not - I don’t know. But you can still survive the spoiled look, but fungal diseases are a terrible enemy of our gardens.
Processing Dates
The white circadian develops from May to August. But in the more southern regions of adult insects can be observed already in mid-July. Here is the period from the moment the larvae appears to the formation of the adult, the preventive and protective measures are most effective.
In July-August, when there are already adult cicadas on the plant branches, laying eggs, ready for wintering, no control measures will bring the desired result. It is best to carry out the treatment of plants when you notice a white fluffy coating on them - these are the pest larvae, it is with them that you must mainly fight.
Means and preparations against white cicadas
Spraying raspberries (after harvesting) and figs with Aktara and Aktelik solution helped me well.
To destroy all the larvae, but they do not appear at the same time, processing, spraying should be carried out every 7-10 days until the end of July. This will not allow the "larvae" to grow up and they will not be able to lay eggs under the bark of fruit trees, berry bushes.
Unfortunately, now it is hardly possible to completely get rid of the white cicadas, since it can feel great not only on vegetable and fruit crops, but also on weeds, for example, on nettles. It is unlikely that such treatments are "tough" or "affordable" to ordinary gardeners. And who will process the weed thickets outside the garden of the vegetable garden? .. The question is rhetorical!
Experts advise alternating drugs for processing.
Effective Akarin (Agrovertin), Fitoverm. These are short-waiting insectoacaricides of biological origin. That is, they can be sprayed with plants with fruits that are suitable for consumption within 2-3 days after treatment.
Good results are visible after treatment with the Fufanon plant. But it is better for them to process plants after harvesting (for example, raspberries), since the waiting period is 20 days (20 days after spraying, you can eat fruits).
Actara has a waiting period of 60 days. Actelik - 30 days.
So the choice of drugs to combat the white cicadas depends on the processing time, the time of fruit ripening, the type of garden or garden plants. The proportions for the preparation of solutions are given in the instructions for each tool.
Not so long ago, in the Garden and Garden in the Kuban group (in Odnoklassniki), participants asked each other how to deal with the white circadian, were there any non-chemical means. It turns out that an infusion of celandine has already been tested with a positive result.
I was very happy with this information, because, alas, this year (2017) the cicadas occupied much more plants than in the past - tomatoes, eggplant, celery (the list can be extended indefinitely). I do not want to process vegetable or berry plants with chemistry, even if the waiting period for the decay of harmful components is small.
The infusion of celandine to combat the white cicadas is simply prepared. Bucket 1/4 fill with freshly torn celandine, pour cold water. Stand for 24 hours, strain and spray. The solution should be the color of light tea, not too dark, otherwise you can burn the plants. Some gardeners add 1 tablespoon of liquid soap to this infusion to enhance the adhesion of the solution to leaves and branches. One addition: a single treatment will not help, since plants can simultaneously contain larvae (white fluff) and adults - white butterflies. The infusion of celandine affects only the larvae; for adults, it (alas!) Is not dangerous. The second and subsequent treatments are needed to destroy the newly emerging larvae. The interval between treatments is 5-7 days.
Another recipe. In the fall, after the leaves fall, treat the entire garden with the DNOC preparation, it kills the white circadian eggs, which it lays on the branches of plants. In the early spring, before budding, repeat the treatment. After a week, treat the trees with the drug 30. The author of the recipe claims that this is the only way to defeat the cicadas.
Updated 01/06/2018