How to deal with aphids on sunflower

Despite the fact that sunflower is a one-year-old but powerful enough plant, many different harmful insects can attack it. One of these is aphid - a small insect capable of significantly affecting the quality and quantity of the harvested crop. Piercing the surface of shoots, leaves or buds, insects suck out the juice with their proboscis. Massive damage done by aphids does not allow the plant to open the basket bud and go into the flowering phase, as a result of which it fades. Therefore, if aphids appeared on sunflower, urgent measures must be taken.

What aphid affects sunflower

Various types of aphids can affect sunflowers:

• peach;
• beetroot;
• euonymus;
• acacia.

Helichrysous aphid is a particular danger for planting - an insect having a broad-egg-shaped green body up to 1.5 mm in length. First, the aphid turns yellow, then becomes a greenish-brown color. A photo of a gelichrysian aphid is presented below.

On a note!

The pest spends winter on fruit trees, with the advent of spring it migrates to sunflower. It is especially dangerous for the plant during the formation of buds. The pest infects young leaves on sunflowers, from which they become wrinkled, curl and fade.

One of the most common pests of sunflower is beet aphid - an insect up to 3 mm, which prefers to live in a warm climate. Its first generation affects viburnum and jasmine, with the appearance of winged migrants in the 2-3 generation, sunflower, potatoes, beets and beans suffer.

Ways to fight

Sunflower aphid control measures include chemical (store) preparations and folk remedies. Moreover, the latter are much cheaper and safer, but they eliminate pests only for a while.

Chemicals

With an excessive amount of insects, chemicals can not be dispensed with. Toxic chemicals are:

• System action. These are the most effective of all chemical agents, however, and the most dangerous - when green spaces penetrate into the plant tissue, their juice becomes poisonous to insects. Preparations of this class are recommended for use when it is not possible to get rid of aphids by other means. This is ideal for use in rainy weather, as well as for processing tall trees. The disadvantages of such funds include a long period of waiting for the effect (about 2-3 weeks). A faster effect from drugs in this category has Actar remedy - an effective remedy for gelichrysian aphids, which affects large areas, as well as Tanrek.
• Contact action. Affect aphids that affect sunflower in direct contact. The insecticide entering the body blocks the functioning of the nervous system. Those individuals who managed to avoid the destruction of the contact drug, begin to breed at double speed.This nuance is the only drawback of these pesticides. The following brands are in great demand among gardeners: Fufanon, Fury, Karbofos and Arrivo.
• Intestinal action. Drugs of this group act on the digestive system of insects, entering their body through the organs of nutrition. Manufacturers managed to enhance the effect of these funds by combining their composition with contact-action drugs. The most popular in this series are the means of Bi 58 New, Confidor.

When using chemicals, you must know the following nuances.

1. The use of insecticides against aphids on sunflower should only be with an excessively large accumulation of harmful insects. After all, along with aphids, poisonous components also destroy beneficial insects.
2. To prevent chemicals from becoming addictive in pests, they must be periodically alternated.
3. It is not recommended to carry out chemical treatment during the flowering period of sunflower.
4. The first treatment is preferable to carry out before the dissolution of the kidneys, which will help to destroy part of the overwintered eggs of the pest.

Folk remedies

With a slight defeat of sunflower aphids, you can get rid of the pest with folk recipes.

Mechanical way

Perhaps the simplest and at the same time the most laborious way to get rid of the pest is to wash the sunflower leaf plates with a strong jet of water.

Soap solution

A more pronounced effect can be achieved by treating sunflower leaves with a soap solution. For its preparation, it is preferable to useeconomic, tar or liquid soap.

Herbal infusions

The smell of onions, garlic, tobacco, as well as chamomile, marigolds or dandelions perfectly repels aphids. It is enough to plant these plants around the perimeter of the field with sunflowers to collect a full crop. You can also use plant repellents to prepare infusions, which should be sprayed with infected sunflowers.

Ash

Helping to get rid of aphids on sunflower ash. It is also used to prepare a solution that treats leaves damaged by a pest. And so that the effect is maximum, liquid or laundry soap is added to the solution.

Ammonia

Gives a no less effective result in the fight against harmful insects ammonia. Just one spoonful of this substance is enough to prepare 10 liters of aphid disastrous solution. They should spray the infected sunflower daily.

Soda

Another effective folk remedy against aphids is soda. Dissolve a spoonful of soda in a liter of water and spray the damaged sunflower leaves. You can also add some soap to it.

Hydrogen peroxide

An excellent prophylactic against aphids and molds, the appearance of which is facilitated by the presence of pests, is hydrogen peroxide. To prepare the solution, it is combined with alcohol and dishwashing liquid.

Other means

No less popular means are:

• milk and iodine;
• Coca Cola;
• vinegar;
• garlic;
• celandine;
• mustard;
• vodka;
• Green soap;
• Birch tar;
• tobacco;
• boric acid.

Biological preparations

Biological preparations are effective in the fight against aphids thanks to their special bacteria. Although they are less effective than chemical ones, they are completely harmless. These include: Acarin, Spark, Intavir, Fitoverm, Aversectin.

Whichever of the above listed funds you choose, it is better to spray sunflower from aphids in dry and calm weather.