Onions - a vegetable, without which cooking most dishes of the world cuisine is complete. Such his popularity makes the hostesses think about growing this crop in their own garden. In care, the vegetable is not whimsical and resistant to most ailments, but there are some that can cause a lot of trouble and significantly spoil the crop. The fight against them will be discussed further.
Causes of the appearance of onion fly worms
The most common and dangerous onion pest is an onion fly. It very much resembles an ordinary housefly, only an ash gray color. A fly overwinters in the ground, forming something resembling a tan cocoon. By the end of May, when the time comes for the flowering of cherries and dandelions, the insect leaves its winter shelter and proceeds to egg-laying. It forms its masonry on onion feathers, as its larvae, white worms, eat onions, garlic and other plants from this family.
Did you know? Onion fly inhabits almost the entire territory of the Northern Hemisphere, except for deserts. Over a season, an insect can reproduce several generations of worms, and the farther south the region, the more generations per season. Maximum amount — 3-4 generations per year.
After 3–8 days, larvae emerge from the eggs, rushing instantly to the bulbs. Having left one bulb, they again go to the ground, form cocoons, from which flies will appear, which will give life to second-generation larvae. They will hit later onion varieties. This is the life cycle of an insect, so it can be found almost everywhere where bulb crops are grown. But there are places where the pest accumulates in large numbers and causes significant damage to the crop.
The reasons for this may be:
- crop rotation violations (several seasons in a row planted in one place of the crop, affected by the pest);
- autumn digging was not carried out or a small layer of soil was raised;
- beds do not alternate (onions - carrots);
- planting material did not pass preparation.
How to process onions from worms?
There are several ways to fight a pest: folk, chemical means, biological products. What exactly needs to be used against an onion fly is described below.
Biological products
Today, among the existing means of combating various misfortunes in the garden, biological preparations are gaining popularity. They are as effective as chemical fungicides, but they accumulate in smaller quantities in crops.
Trichodermin
If you find that small white worms are wound up in the garden, then you need to urgently take action. The most effective biological agent is considered Trichodermin. To process the bed with them, you need to prepare a solution (30 g / 3 l of water). This solution should be sprayed on the culture in calm and dry weather. The procedure is repeated after a week and a half.
Metronidazole
The drug metronidazole is an antibacterial agent. You can find it in a regular pharmacy. It effectively destroys the pest. Such a solution is prepared: 4 tablets are diluted in 10 liters of water. The beds are sprayed with liquid at the rate of 4-6 liters per square meter of the plot.
Folk remedies
Although biologics are more gentle than chemical ones, they are still able to accumulate in a vegetable, remaining in it for a short time. Therefore, before harvesting, their use is not recommended. In this case, you can water the culture with folk remedies.
Ammonia
Among folk remedies, ammonia is considered the most effective remedy against any garden pests. Possessing a rather specific aroma, it not only destroys existing larvae, but also scares away flies who want to leave new offspring in the plant. Preparing a solution of 3 tbsp. l pharmacy products and 10 liters of water. To them, with an interval of 4-5 days, the culture is watered under the root. For preventive purposes, processing is carried out with an interval of 10-12 days.
Important! Ammonia is a nitrogen-containing drug, so you need to finish its use until mid-June.
Saline solution
Salt is the simplest remedy for an onion fly that is always at hand. Based on it, you can prepare a solution. In 10 l of water, 300 g of salt is diluted. When this product is thoroughly dissolved, the plant is watered with a solution under the root. Before the treatment procedure, it is necessary to moisten the soil. After a few hours, the salt that has settled on the plant should be washed off and sprinkled with water between rows. The procedure is performed once a season.
Soap solution
The solution, prepared on the basis of soap, forms a protective film on the plant, so it prevents the appearance of the pest again. But the protective barrier persists for a short time. For the solution, you need to grate 50 g of laundry soap on a grater. The crushed product should be poured with 10 liters of water. The bed is sprayed with the agent. Repeated procedure is carried out after at least three weeks. If the pest has not died after this remedy, then other folk recipes should be used.
Dandelion broth
Worms of onion flies also die after a decoction of dandelions. To prepare it, you need to take 200 g of the root of the plant, grind it well and combine with 1 liter of boiling water. The liquid must be infused for two days, then strain and dilute in 10 liters of water. The treatment of the beds is carried out by spraying through a spray gun.
Important! To get the maximum effect, a decoction of dandelion should be used in tandem with saline.
Wood ash
Wood ash is not only a good tool for regulating the acidity of the soil, for fertilizer, but also an effective antiparasitic substance. Ash can be bought ready-made or obtained independently, but for this you definitely need to burn wood, and not some garbage. It is necessary to take 2 kg and pour 10 liters of water. The fluid should be sprayed throughout the garden. The procedure is carried out with an interval of 14 days.
Chemicals
If there is a need to use chemicals, then it is not necessary to use ready-made products. You can find more sparing options.
Potassium permanganate
Normal potassium permanganate is an affordable and high-quality disinfectant. Therefore, it will not only help get rid of worms, but also protect plants from the possible manifestation of ailments that arise due to a violation of the rules of agricultural culture. For the first treatment, the solution is prepared a slightly pink color.
Did you know? Onions are able to draw poison that enters the human body after an insect bite. It also removes the resulting inflammation, swelling and eliminates itching. Simply attach the cut bulb to the bite site.
Each subsequent treatment, which is carried out after 10-12 days, should be carried out using an increasingly saturated and saturated solution. Any processing is carried out in two days. Watering and spraying the plants. All this is done in one day and the next time it is repeated in the same sequence.
Copper Chloride
This is a popular inorganic fungicide, often used instead of Bordeaux fluid. Based on it, a solution is prepared: 20 g of the product per 10 liters of water. For greater efficiency, it is recommended to add 20 g of laundry soap, crushed with a grater, to the resulting liquid. The resulting product is so effective that it is enough to carry out the treatment once a season.
Onion worm disease prevention
Fighting the onion fly is not very troublesome, but if the pest is detected late, you can lose a large amount of the crop. Therefore, care must be taken to protect the culture in advance.
To do this, a number of preventive measures are carried out:
- Autumn digging of the site before the onset of frost. As a result of this procedure, the larvae will appear on the surface and freeze with the advent of frost.
- In the spring, before planting, it is necessary to decontaminate the seed with potassium permanganate.
- After planting the crop, the bed should be sprinkled with ash (1 tbsp. / 1 m²).
- After each watering, loosen the bed so that the moisture evaporates faster. Dry soil is harmful to larvae.
