What are raspberry pests and how to deal with them

Raspberries of any kind can be more or less attacked by pests. The consequences of damage often lead to a sharp decrease in the marketability of fruits and berries, a significant shortage and even complete destruction of the crop. In order to successfully deal with pests, you need to know a lot: how they look, what harm they cause, in what time periods they can be dangerous, under what conditions and much more. The correct methods of plant protection can avoid their defeat and preserve the crop.

What are raspberries pests

There are a lot of varieties of raspberry pests. They can affect various vegetative organs of plants at different stages of their development. So that harmful insects do not take the gardener by surprise, it is better to get to know them in advance.

Raspberry stem (shoot) gall midge

A pest damages raspberries and blackberries. A small mosquito (1.6-2.2 mm), which flies in May-July during the flowering of raspberries. The female lays eggs on shoots, from which larvae appear after 8-10 days. They crawl under the bark of the stems and feed on their juice. At the site of introduction of the larvae, swellings (galls) are formed in which the larvae remain to hibernate. Gauls reach 3 cm in length and 2 cm in width. Cracks form on the swellings, the bark begins to exfoliate, the shoot is destroyed and easily breaks off at the site of damage.

Raspberry shoot gall midge is a small mosquito, its larvae penetrate the raspberry stalk and form swellings (galls), which reach 3 cm in length, 2 cm in width

In the spring, in each gall, there can be from two to eleven larvae that grow to 3-4 mm pupate. In late May, during the flowering period of raspberries, adults appear. The insect is very harmful, it can damage up to 70% of raspberry shoots.

Video: raspberry stricken with stem gall midge

Raspberry nutcracker

The insect is 2-3 mm long with a black body and a stalked abdomen. Like shoot gall midge, raspberry stalks are damaged. The larvae penetrate into the shoot and, eating its tissues, cause bloating. Affected stems also easily break off or dry out. Fruiting is sharply reduced. Gauls formed from a lesion by a nut-grower differ from swellings formed when damaged by stem gall midge, in size and can reach a length of 10 cm.

Raspberry nutcracker is a small insect whose larvae infect raspberry stalks, forming swellings that can reach 10 cm in length

Raspberry shoot aphid

The pest belongs to the order of the winged proboscis insects. The color of aphids is light green with a wax coating, the size is about 2.5 mm. It affects the ends of the shoots and petioles of the leaves, sucking juice from them. The leaves are twisted, the shoots are curved, the growth stops. Raspberries do not bear fruit, as the flowers stop in development and dry out. Significant damage is caused by the pest in a drought. Heavily affected by aphid plants lose their hardiness. And also aphids are a carrier of raspberry viral diseases.

The female aphid lays shiny black eggs on shoots near the buds, where they winter. With the beginning of the growing season, larvae appear that feed on the juice of the kidneys. Developing rapidly, without fertilization, they hatch living larvae. Several generations develop over the season. In summer, winged aphids appear, which spread to other plants.

Raspberry shoot aphid is a small (about 2.5 mm) light green insect that infects the ends of raspberry shoots and leaf stalks, sucking juice from them

Raspberry Weevil (Raspberry Blossom)

The pest can also be called strawberry-raspberry weevil, as it damages strawberries and strawberries in addition to raspberries. Black (maybe brown) a small bug 2.5-3 mm in size with a long thin proboscis. Beetles overwinter under plant debris and lumps of earth. In the spring, the pest eats young leaves, and before flowering lays eggs one at a time in each bud and gnaws the peduncle, which breaks and remains to hang on the film. A larva emerges from the egg, which eats the bud and pupates in it. Weevil deals great damage to the crop. In mid-summer, young beetles hatch, which feed on leaves and petioles.

Raspberry-strawberry weevil - a small bug (2.5-3 mm) black, damaging the raspberry buds and pedicels

Raspberry beetle

One of the most dangerous pests of raspberries. During the years of mass flight, it damages up to 30% of buds and flowers. A dirty gray beetle is densely covered with rusty yellow or grayish hairs, giving it a dirty rust color.

For wintering, beetles penetrate the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. They crawl out from there when the earth is warming up to 12 ° C and begin to feed on pollen and anthers of fruit and berry crops, as well as flowering weeds. During the extension of buds on raspberries, beetles switch to this culture. They gnaw flowers, buds, young leaves. In raspberry flowers, the pest gnaws nectaries and lays one egg each, of which in 8-10 days worm-shaped larvae appear. They gnaw out the stalks and the bases of the berries, which become ugly and dull, become smaller, fade and rot. The quality of the crop is sharply reduced. During berry picking, it is often possible to detect beetle larvae inside.

The raspberry beetle has the color of dirty rust, feeds on flowers, buds, young leaves, and its larvae damage stalks and berries

Raspberry stem fly

A brown insect 5-7 mm long flying in May-June is a raspberry stem fly; it can also be called a raspberry fly. At this time, young shoots of raspberries begin to grow. The fly lays eggs on their tops and in the axils of the leaves starting to form. About a week later, larvae hatch, which immediately penetrate the middle of young stems and gnaw them, laying spiral and circular passages. The apical parts of the damaged stems gradually fade, blacken and die in 10-15 days. Some stronger stems can give lateral shoots, but they do not have time to ripen before the fall and die in the winter. In thickened raspberries, up to 80% of the stems can die.

Raspberry stem fly is a brown insect 5-7 mm long, the larvae of which damage young shoots, their tops fade, blacken and die

After 12-16 days, the larvae leave the stems and penetrate the soil to a depth of 5-6 cm, where they remain to winter. In May, when the soil is warmed up at a depth of larvae to 12-13 ° C, they pupate. In dry and warm weather in a week, and in rainy and cool in 2-3 weeks flies start to fly out. In addition to raspberries, the fly also damages blackberries.

Video: why the raspberry shoots wither (raspberry fly)

Raspberry kidney moth

A small nocturnal butterfly with shiny purplish-brown front wings covered with yellow dots. Hind wings gray with black silver fringe. Wingspan - 11-14 mm. Caterpillars are red with a black head, 7-9 mm long. The pest overwinters in the caterpillar stage in cocoons under the bark of raspberry stalks, in stumps or on the ground under bushes. In early spring, the caterpillars crawl out and penetrate the raspberry buds, which dry up and can produce only single leaves. Gnawing a kidney, the caterpillar penetrates into the middle of the shoot and pupates. A few days later, butterflies appear from the pupae, which during the flowering period of raspberries lay one egg in each flower. Caterpillars that emerge from the eggs feed on the fruit-bearing berries before they ripen, and then go down to the base of the shoots, find shelter and winter in the form of a cocoon, withstanding severe frosts. Raspberry kidney moth also damages blackberries and in some years can cause great damage.

Raspberry bud moth is a small nocturnal butterfly, its caterpillars affect the raspberry buds, which dry up and can give only single leaves

Spider mite

The arthropod arachnid is oval in shape, grayish-green in the beginning of the season, orange-red from late summer to spring. Ticks are very small - 0.25-0.43 mm. For winter, fertilized females hide in various shelters: in plant debris or under the bark of trees. Ticks appear in spring on the underside of young leaves, suck out the juice from them and braid with a thick web in which they lay their eggs. Larvae develop within 1-3 weeks and during this time they suck juice from leaves, green shoots and fruits. Several generations of the pest are reproduced in the season. Brown spots appear on the leaves, they dry and fall off. In a dry summer, plants severely damaged by ticks die. Crop losses can reach 70%.

The spider mite is very small (0.25-0.43 mm), grayish-green in color, it sucks the juice from young raspberry leaves and braids it with a web in which it lays eggs

Raspberry glassware

Butterfly blue-black, with a long thin body and transparent glassy wings. Yellow rings on the abdomen give it a resemblance to a wasp. Wingspan 22-26 mm. In June-July, a glass-case begins to fly and lay eggs on the soil at the base of raspberry stalks. Females are very prolific, each of them can lay up to 200 eggs. Hatching caterpillars bite into stems and roots, cutting through numerous passages in which they remain for the winter. Next year, they continue to grind moves, and then pupate, having previously prepared a hole for the butterfly to exit. Damaged shoots poorly develop, poorly bear fruit, become fragile in the lower part. Glassbasket is less common than gall midges, weevils and beetles. Most often, it can be found in neglected plantations on personal plots.

Raspberry glass jar - a blue-black butterfly, a bit like a wasp, whose caterpillars pave passages in the stems and roots of raspberries

Scoop

There are two types of scoops that damage raspberries. The first is a raspberry scoop, a butterfly with a wingspan of about 33 mm. The front wings are dirty purple, the hind wings are brownish-gray. Flies in June-July. The caterpillar lives in summer and autumn, damaging leaves of raspberries, blackberries, nightshade and some other plants.

Raspberry scoop - a butterfly with a wingspan of about 33 mm, its caterpillars damage raspberry leaves in summer and autumn

The second type is a golden raspberry scoop. Butterfly with lemon-yellow wings, covered with rusty-brown spots. A wavy line with dots along the edges of the wings. Lives from August to October. The caterpillar is gray-brown, damaging raspberries, gooseberries and other cultivated and wild plants.

A scoop of golden raspberry has lemon-yellow wings with rusty-brown spots, its caterpillars damage raspberries, gooseberries and other cultivated and wild plants

How to deal with raspberry pests

There are various methods of combating raspberry pests: by treatment with special drugs that destroy insects, agricultural methods, as well as folk remedies. The choice of the method of struggle depends on various factors, but one must always take into account that prevention is never superfluous.

Types of Pest Control Products

To control pests, raspberries, like any other cultivated plants, can be processed with biological and chemical preparations. Currently, there is a large selection of them.

It is preferable to use biological agents, since they are less toxic or completely safe for humans and do not accumulate in the fruits.

The essence of the biological method of controlling plant pests consists in using the phenomenon of superparasitism or antagonism between microorganisms living on plants or in the soil that exists in nature. Various microorganisms are natural enemies of insects and ticks, among them are pathogens of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases of insects and plants.

Bioinsecticides act on groups of insect pests, and bioacaricides act on ticks. There are drugs that are effective against insects and against ticks, they are called insectoacaricides. These include Actofit and Fitoverm. The final treatment with biological products can be carried out shortly before harvesting. Biological products have their drawbacks. Their shelf life is small, in liquid form can be stored from two to eight weeks. They also require special storage conditions. The frequency of biologic treatments is higher than when using chemicals (every 7-20 days depending on the drug), with significant lesions they may be ineffective.

Since biological preparations are low toxic or completely harmless to humans, the last treatment can be carried out shortly before harvest

The use of chemical insecticides (one of the types of pesticides designed to kill insects) is more effective, but also less safe for humans and animals. The vast majority of chemicals are highly toxic, therefore, when using them, you must strictly adhere to the dosages, timing of use and precautions specified in the instructions. Typically, chemicals have a significantly longer waiting time than biological ones; it can vary from 20 to 60 days, depending on the drug.

When treating plants with chemicals, safety precautions must be observed and plants should be sprayed only at specified times (taking into account the waiting period)

How and when to process raspberries from pests

If it is necessary to treat raspberries from pests, it is important to correctly navigate the choice of drug. There is a fairly large variety of them. To ensure maximum plant protection from pests and to obtain at the same time safe products for health, chemical and biological preparations are best used in combination.

It is important to choose the right pest control drug, do not abuse chemicals if you can get along with biological drugs

Processing should be carried out at the recommended time, otherwise they may be ineffective. The calendar of treatments is compiled depending on the stage of the seasonal cycle of plant life.

Table: biological and chemical preparations for raspberry pest control and processing time

Video: Fighting the Most Common Raspberry Pests

How to protect raspberries from pest damage

Timely preventive measures of an agrotechnical nature and the use of folk remedies in most cases avoid the use of chemicals.

Agrotechnical methods of protection

When planting raspberries, you need to consider that it can not be planted after strawberries, potatoes and tomatoes because of the common pests. The best predecessors for this crop will be lettuce, spinach, feather onions, radishes and beets.

An important role in pest control is played by autumn autumn plowing (digging) raspberries. During processing, weeds are destroyed. Some of the harmful larvae and pupae turn to the surface and die from unfavorable factors, while the other part is smelled to a depth where they can no longer escape.

The ground dug during the autumn period freezes in winter and chills - hence the name chaffinch plowing.

The following agrotechnical preventive measures are recommended:

• thorough care of plants;
• weed control;
• thinning thickened raspberries;
• timely cutting and removal of prolific stems (immediately after fruiting);
• harvesting and burning of plant debris in raspberry plantations;
• mulching the soil under the bushes with a thick layer (at least 8 cm) so that the pests could not crawl to the surface;
• cutting out damaged sprouts of raspberries with galls (damaged by shoot gall midges and nutcrackers) and burning them;
• low clipping (near the ground without leaving stumps) of prolificated, as well as weak and underdeveloped stems damaged by kidney moth;
• cutting and burning aphids populated by aphids;
• collecting and burning damaged buds with eggs and larvae of weevil;
• systematic cutting and burning of fading stems damaged by raspberry flies;
• shaking off bushes of weevils and raspberry beetles on linen or gauze shields or nets;
• harvesting raspberries in a container, sheathed inside the canvas, followed by the destruction of all the larvae of the raspberry beetle that emerged from the berries and remained at the bottom of the container;
• catching a scoop with the help of light traps and hunting tanks with odorous baits;
• planting repellent plant pests such as calendula, marigolds, garlic, dill and others in the ranks of raspberries.

Folk remedies

Absolutely harmless will be the use of "grandmother's recipes" for pest control raspberries. There are quite a lot of folk remedies, but the table shows the most popular of them.

Table: folk remedies for raspberry pest control

Obtaining high and stable yields of good quality raspberries is possible only with the systematic and systematic implementation of a range of pest control measures. It is necessary to learn how to correctly assess the degree of risk of pest damage and choose the best methods to combat them. In the event that you can get by with folk remedies, agricultural techniques or biologicals, do not abuse the chemicals. Timely preventive measures will allow you to get a decent harvest of environmentally friendly products.