Causes of the appearance of midges on tomatoes
Many inexperienced gardeners, while growing tomatoes, notice midges swarming on the plants, but they are not too worried about this. Having a vague idea of their appearance, gardeners do not even realize how dangerous seemingly harmless insects can be.
Causes of the appearance of midges on tomatoes
The midges on tomatoes are parasites that feed on the sap of the plant, as a result of which it loses its vitality, ceases to produce a bountiful harvest and may even die. That is why, having found insects on tomatoes, it is necessary to take urgent measures to eliminate them.
White midge - what is she
The miner fly or whitefly, as this parasite is called, often settles on tomatoes, starting active reproduction. Not having time to appear, she immediately lays many eggs, from which small larvae are born.
The source of vital activity for them is the juice of stems and leaves, as well as roots, which insects extract, while destroying the plant itself. Having such "guests" on itself, the seedlings begin to lose their vitality, and their productivity gradually fades away.
How to detect
It is very easy to find out that small white midges have appeared on tomatoes. First of all, you can see small butterflies circling, as well as the larvae that it lays. If you touch the tomatoes on which the midges breed, you can see that the insects will fly in different directions. In addition, plants affected by whiteflies have the following characteristics:
- the leaves look dry and curled and often develop a white coating that turns black over time;
- inside the fruit may turn out to be white;
- the stem and other green parts of the plant may suddenly turn yellow, as if they are lacking moisture;
- tomatoes ripen unevenly.
If you find these signs on your plants, you need to immediately save the tomatoes to prevent them from dying.
How to get rid of a whitefly
The insidiousness of this small midge is that it is very resistant to chemicals, and the eggs laid by it are quite tenacious. And yet, despite the difficulties, it is possible and necessary to fight the whitefly using various methods. Among the most common options for getting rid of parasites are:
- fumigation;
- chemicals;
- bioactive fertilizers;
- folk ways.
When growing tomatoes in a closed greenhouse, note that white midges on tomatoes can be destroyed by fumigating with sulfur candles. For this purpose, you need to take special checkers and, closing the cracks in the room, fumigate the greenhouse. This will help to get rid of not only existing whitefly butterflies, but also pupae with larvae that are in the process of development.
Together with this method, insecticides or chemicals are perfectly combined, especially in greenhouse conditions. Those with pyrethrum or pyrimiphos-methyl are ideal choices.These include: Confidor Extra, Aktara, Pegasus, Fosbecid and others. You need to use the product strictly according to the instructions on the package, using a manual spray. It is recommended to perform the procedure twice to make sure that the condition of the tomatoes is improving and the fight against the whitefly is successful. After choosing a warm and dry day, you need to carefully spray the diseased plants with the chemical, and then cover them to create shade. You can repeat the procedure with a different composition, since even the tiniest midge on tomatoes has the peculiarity of developing immunity to the same drugs.
As for the biological method, its essence lies in the use of some insects that eat parasites, but do not harm tomatoes. According to experienced gardeners, this option is the most environmentally friendly and works no worse than a chemical attack on pests.
Folk proven methods
Folk remedies are suitable to fight insects.
Given the fact that chemicals are often dangerous to humans, many gardeners choose for themselves folk remedies for getting rid of white-winged midges on tomatoes. One of the options can be glue traps - sheets of plywood, which are painted in a yellowish tint and treated with a composition with a sticky base. Arriving midges stick and no longer pose a threat to tomatoes.
A garlic-based solution can also be an excellent method. To do this, take 150 g of peeled garlic cloves and chop them, and then mix with 1 liter of water. Having insisted the remedy for 5 days, it must be combined with 6 liters of water and sprayed on the plants. Places under the leaves require careful attention, since it is there that larvae and pupae often hide. Midges on tomatoes do not like tar or laundry soap very much, the foam of which can be used to fight them. To do this, grate a bar of detergent and dilute with water. Using a hand sprayer, all affected plants must be well treated and allowed to dry. You do not need to wash it off, but you can repeat it quite often.
Black midges
In addition to whiteflies, other insects can also parasitize on greenery, so you should be alerted by the appearance of uninvited "guests" of a dark color in the leaves of plants. The black midge that appears on the tomatoes, just like the white-winged midge, feeds on the juice of the stems and foliage, actively destroying the plant.
Signs of presence on tomatoes
If black pests began to multiply on tomatoes, you can notice the following changes that have occurred with the plants:
- leaves look lifeless and dry, despite regular watering;
- stunted appearance of the stems;
- poor productivity or complete loss of the ability of the diseased plant to bear fruit;
- the emergence of ant trails, which protect black midges, feeding on their waste products.
Very often insects can be seen with the naked eye, especially on a sunny day - they like to sit on the lower part of the leaves and eat juicy areas.
To end the "feast" of parasites and protect your plants, you need to treat them as soon as possible and fight insects.
Existing methods of dealing with black flies
As in the case of whiteflies, gnats can be defeated by chemical action. "Aktafit", "Aktara", "Fufanon" will be able to come to the rescue. Due to their composition, it will be possible to drive out black midges from plants quickly enough, especially in a greenhouse.
True, when working with drugs, it is necessary to observe safety measures, therefore, a person must certainly wear a mask, gloves, a hat and a respirator. Observing the dosage, it is necessary to carefully process the plants three times, taking a break of about a week.
Folk ways
Among the folk methods that decide the question of how to get rid of black midges, there are many that are highly effective and at the same time safe for humans. For example, a mixture of vegetable oil and liquid soap. It is enough just to mix these two components with ordinary water in the amount of 100 and 150 g, respectively, and then spray the plants in the greenhouse with a spray bottle. If we are talking about open ground, the best option would be a warm evening when the chance of rain is minimized, or earlier in the morning. It is better not to apply the product to freshly flooded plants, as it will not work.
Gardeners also use a tincture of pepper and garlic. To prepare the solution you will need:
- 200 g of garlic;
- 50 g mustard;
- 20 g hot red pepper.
Leave the chopped garlic in water for several hours, and then add a mixture of pepper and mustard to this "composition". After thoroughly mixing the solution, you can start eliminating pests and aphids. It is enough to water the tomatoes twice a day and scare away the midge so that it never comes back.
Having figured out the methods of getting rid of gnats on tomatoes, you can protect your crop and be sure that it will never fall prey to winged pests.