Leafworms are the worst enemies of crops. They can cause great harm to plants and deprive the grower of a significant part of the crop. How to deal with the leafworm on fruit trees and what to do to prevent the appearance of a harmful butterfly? Answers and recommendations are collected in the article below.

Who are leaflets

Many species of leafworms - winged insects that resemble a butterfly with a pubescent body - parasitize in gardens. Butterflies do not live long and do not cause much harm to vegetation. The most dangerous for fruit crops are their larvae. Caterpillars appear in early spring, quickly spread throughout the garden and actively attack trees. Their diet includes inflorescences, buds and leaves, which the caterpillars twist into bags, fix with cobwebs and eat from the inside. By the beginning of the summer season, leafworms pupate and turn into butterflies. Adults can lay about a hundred eggs at a time, placing them on leaves and fruits. The second wave of caterpillars inflicts even more damage on fruit trees, depriving already damaged trees of crops.

Leaf rollers are the worst enemies

How to deal with a pest

Mechanical methods

Fruit tree pests

The most common method of struggle, which is used primarily, is mechanical. It is the removal of insects by manually dropping them. The affected foliage is cut off and subject to burning, since pests or laid eggs may remain inside the leaves. However, if the plant is already severely damaged, this method will not work.

Biological methods

This is getting rid of the leafworm pest using the food chain. Insects have enemies and birds are such. The seed feeders hung around the garden will help attract a whole rescue army, which will perfectly cope with ridding the garden of harmful insects.

Fight against leaf beetles

Important!Do not put a lot of feed into the feeders, since well-fed birds are poor hunters for caterpillars and larvae.

Drugs

If none of the above methods helped to get rid of the leafworms, you need to resort to the help of insecticides. They are divided into 2 groups:

  • contact (they destroy insects only in direct contact with the pest);
  • systemic (they penetrate into the treated plants and destroy insects. Usually they contain substances with a high degree of toxicity).

Destruction by chemical agents is considered to be an effective but highly aggressive method. During processing, substances can penetrate into the pulp of the fruit, and then into the human body. For this reason, it is necessary to resort to this method of treatment only in extreme cases, strictly following the instructions. Of all insecticides, gardeners isolate Alatar, Karbofos, Atom, Aktellik. Biologically active drugs - Lepidocide and Dendrobazzelin - do well.

Important!Carefully study the instructions on the back of the package, as the effectiveness of some insecticides directly depends on the air temperature and climatic conditions.

What to do if leaves curl on fruit trees

Top dressing of fruit trees

If leaves are curled on fruit trees, then the plant is definitely not healthy.For a start, it is worth conducting an examination to identify the cause of the disease. The presence of pests is not the only problem that can cause damage to foliage. If, upon examination, no larvae and other insects were found on the visible surface, you need to pay attention to the general dynamics of the state of the plant.

  • Twisting foliage, cracked bark and poor yields mean the tree is infected with a viral infection. Bacteria get inside through mechanical damage from rainwater and multiply. An adult tree affected by a bacterial infection looks like a burned one. To combat such an ailment, mineral fertilizers are used for foliar dressing, for example, Skor or Aktellik.
  • Lack of moisture and nutrients can also cause foliage to curl. If, apart from this defect, the plant looks quite healthy, then it just needs to be fed and rejuvenating pruning of leaves.

    Leaves curl due to leaflets

Folk remedies against leaf rollers

Bacterial burn of fruit trees - control measures

Gardening has been around for centuries, but chemicals and insecticides are relatively new. How did the ancestors keep the trees healthy, juicy and ripe fruits, which were often the main source of vitamins? Folk remedies have long been the only weapon against harmful insects. Their advantages are that raw materials are used for cooking, which can be found in any home. In addition, folk recipes are quite mild and do not harm the fruit. Through trial and error, the most effective remedies for leaf rollers on fruit and fruit trees have come down to our days:

  • Wormwood tincture. For infusion, leaves of bitter wormwood are cut and dried during the flowering period. About 200 g of the plant is poured with 1 liter of boiling water and insisted in a dark place for 3 days. After that, the slurry is poured into a spray bottle and the affected, twisted leaves are sprayed. Wormwood has a bitter, specific odor that scares away not only leafworms, but also other insects. Marigold inflorescences, which should be grown in close proximity to fruit crops, have the same properties.
  • Infusion of potato tops. The most common and easiest way. For its preparation, 2 kg of tops are finely chopped and poured into 5 liters of boiled water. After the infusion has cooled, 20 g of liquid soap or other foaming component is added. The solution can be used to treat fruits and leaves with a spray bottle or dishwashing sponge.
  • Infusion of tobacco. This method is the most severe and even toxic. Half a kilogram of shag is poured into 10 liters of boiling water, insisted for 2 days, and then carefully filtered through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. The finished solution is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 2, where the second indicator is the amount of water. For more effect, you can add a bar of grated soap to help cleanse the infected areas of the plant. It is not recommended to process ripening fruits with tobacco solution.

Prevention

The most reliable method of pest control is to prevent their appearance. Periodic preventive maintenance ensures the good health of fruit trees and shrubs. Since the leafworm attacks weakened plants, special attention must be paid to their general condition. To maintain immunity, it is necessary to timely water, weed, fertilize and trim the leaves that begin to curl up. With the onset of autumn, the trunk part also requires attention. The old bark must be torn off and burned, so that all the bugs in it do not survive until the next flowering season. It is important to follow these rules for every object in the garden, as harmful insects and fungi quickly spread throughout the territory. In addition to mechanical action, there are also chemical prevention methods:

  • iron vitriol enriches fruit crops with trace elements necessary for health;
  • propelactin - a drug from a specialized store for processing during a particularly vulnerable period of bud break;
  • lepidocide is a biologically active substance that is suitable not only for pest control, but also for prevention.

A healthy, blooming garden is the goal and pride of every gardener. By observing preventive measures, you can avoid any attacks of harmful insects, fungal infections and viral infections.