How does whitefly harm cucumbers and how to get rid of it?

The whitefly is a small harmful insect that can often be found on plantations grown both in greenhouse conditions and in the open field. If you do not fight it, the plant can die quickly enough. In order not to lose the crop, you need to know about control methods that will help eliminate the whitefly for the whole season.

The whitefly is a small butterfly that is often found in the garden, mainly on cucumbers. This insect looks like a small white midge. For all its small size, this midge is capable of causing tremendous harm to cultivated plants, feeding on their juices.

This butterfly has two light wings, and its size reaches about 2 millimeters. Adults and mature individuals of this pest, called "imago", do not live long, about 3 weeks, but in such a short time period they are able to lay many eggs, from which no less dangerous larvae appear. The female alone is capable of laying about 100 eggs in her entire life! In this case, egg-laying is carried out mainly from the lower side of the foliage, where adult insects also live.

A small pest that has yet to go through 3 phases of development in the future is called a nymph. It is difficult to remove them from the greenhouse, since they are highly resistant to chemicals and can cause tremendous harm to plants. Having passed to the 4th phase, the insect gains the ability to move freely and over time it forms completely, immediately gaining the ability to actively reproduce. In total, females of a harmful insect produce about 12 generations in one season alone!

A harmful small butterfly lives on cucumber leaves and actively feeds on plant juices, which inhibits the development and growth of the planting, deprives it of the strength and resources that are usually spent on maintaining the green mass and the formation of fruits. The foliage of the plant subsequently begins to turn yellow and curl, and on its fruits, due to the special liquid that the insect emits, you can find dark sooty specks. As a result, the landing dies. In addition, the pest is also a carrier of various infections, which also has a detrimental effect on the condition of the plant.

It can be difficult to find out that parasites have appeared on your plant in the initial stages due to the small size of the whitefly and due to the fact that it likes to hide under the leaves. To detect an insect, you need to disturb the leaf. In case of insect attacks, you will see a whole swarm of small flies that fly around the cucumber bush. In the future, with the active activity of the insect, you can see that a sticky liquid and white dots appear on the leaves of the plant, and subsequently black spots. The leaves themselves are deformed, become faded and actively wither, after which they fall off. On their inner side, it will be possible to find larvae that are not yet able to fly, but actively suck juices from the plant.

This method of struggle can be considered the most harmless. It involves collecting malicious butterflies with your own hand. Besides, you can use a hose, knocking down the insects with a stream of water, and wiping the stem and foliage of the cucumber bush with a soapy solution. This is not to say that this method of struggle will help defeat the whitefly, especially if it has managed to breed. However, this will help to delay her for a while.

Besides, there is another way that allows you to remove a harmful insect - this is the use of sticky traps of bright colors. Most often, they use blue or yellow, since it is these colors that parasites flock to.

Summer residents resort to radical methods of struggle, namely to chemical agents, only in those cases if it simply does not work out in another way to get rid of harmful butterflies. Such drugs are distinguished by their high efficiency and speed. They are able to remove parasites literally from the first treatment, however, there are many significant disadvantages. So, chemicals are very toxic. They harm not only parasites, but also beneficial insects. Moreover, if used improperly, they can also harm the plant, as well as humans. Plus, chemicals tend to accumulate in the foliage and fruits of the plant, which is also not good to eat. So, if you nevertheless decide to poison harmful butterflies with chemicals, we recommend that you pay attention to such medicines as Fitoverm, Aktara, Fufanon, Aktellik and Verticillin.

Treatment with such means will be effective, however, in order to obtain really high results, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the larvae are more resistant to chemicals, and therefore it will not work to spray once and forget about the butterfly for the whole season. To save the plant and destroy the parasite, the bush will have to be sprayed several times. At the same time, it is recommended to periodically change the drugs, since the pest quickly adapts to poisons, because of which they cease to act on him. And in order for the chemicals to stay on the plant longer, it is recommended to add a little liquid soap there.

The biological method of control involves the use of natural enemies of the pest. In our case such an insect is encarsia, which parasitizes the eggs of a harmful butterfly. However, we note that when fighting whitefly on cucumbers, the use of this helper insect may be ineffective, since the villi on the cucumber foliage prevent the encarsia from contacting the eggs of the parasite.

Folk remedies are distinguished by their simplicity in terms of preparation, harmlessness to humans and beneficial insects, as well as economy. You can make a solution according to a folk recipe with your own hands. However, we note that such funds are ineffective in advanced cases and clearly cannot be compared with chemicals. However, you can use them. They will be effective in the prevention and control of small numbers of parasites.

So, you can prepare a tobacco-based solution. You will need a small handful of this ingredient. You can get it from any type of cigarette, and you will need a whole pack. Tobacco must be poured with a liter of hot water, after which it is infused in a dark place for about 5 days. After that, the remedy is healed and the plants are sprayed with it at intervals of 3 days, adding to the complete extermination of the parasite.You can also use regular baking soda for the solution. You only need 2 tablespoons of this component, which must be dissolved in 4 liters of water. The mixture is well stirred and shaken, and then used on plantings.

You can also use dandelion to prepare the infusion. You will need 40 grams of crushed leaves of this plant and 20 grams of its roots. All this is poured with a liter of cold water and left for a three-hour tincture. Then, immediately after the expiration of time, spraying of the precipitated plants is carried out. This must be done 4 times a month. Garlic is equally effective against harmful insects. For the solution, you need 100 grams of chopped garlic and 0.5 liters of chilled water. The mixture should be infused for 5 days, after which the resulting concentrated mixture must be diluted with water and used to spray cucumber bushes.

It is worth paying attention to the solution from the yarrow. You will need 90 grams of leaves of this plant and a liter of water. The mixture must be infused for about 2 days, after which it must be filtered and sprayed with the resulting plant solution at intervals of 7 days. You can also use lemon to prepare the solution. You only need 0.15 kg of its crusts and 2 liters of water. All this must be mixed, covered with a lid and given 2 days for tincture. Next, strain the solution and add 40 grams of soap, which will help the mixture to gain a foothold on the foliage. With this solution, it is necessary to wipe the cucumber foliage on both sides.

It is difficult to fight the whitefly, and therefore it is recommended to follow preventive measures that will help avoid the appearance of the parasite or eliminate it in the first stages, preventing it from breeding.

• The first step is to regularly ventilate the greenhouse. For the same purposes, you can install special ventilation devices there.
• It is also recommended to regularly inspect the planting for the presence of parasites. This will allow you to get rid of them in the early stages, without resorting to the use of radical means.
• After harvesting in autumn, old plant residues must be removed, as larvae may remain on them, which will become active in the next season. At the same time, it is recommended to disinfect the greenhouse with copper sulfate or potassium permanganate.
• Seedlings must be carefully inspected before planting in a permanent place, as they can be infested with larvae.