One of the pests of currant bushes is a fairly common kidney mite. It is difficult to fight him, just like with another glass pest. Many gardeners have long come to terms with his presence and believe that it is impossible to destroy this pest.
This opinion is misleading. It is quite possible to reduce the presence of mites to a minimum and even completely get rid of the pest. Tick control methods are to prevent and treat currant bushes with and without chemicals.
Currant kidney mite
This pest is very common, it can be found in almost all summer cottages. Its main habitats are the middle zone of Russia. However, very few people can see it due to its small size. The kidney mite settles in the kidneys of the currant between the scales, in the kidney it multiplies, and feeds on the juice of the currant. It is difficult to see with the naked eye due to its microscopic size.
Tick saliva has a destructive effect on the currant bud. From it, the kidney swells, the process of loosening it begins, and it increases greatly in size, practically becoming similar to a ball. Many generations of pests live inside one bud. When it becomes cramped for them, young individuals move to other currant buds. Thus, the mite actively spreads, destroying more and more buds of the currant bush. As a result, fewer and fewer branches that can bear fruit remain on the currant bush.
Pests move to new branches of currants during the period of bud extension, and this period lasts for almost a month. It is the most suitable for fighting to destroy them, since the tick is still very vulnerable at this time.
How to deal with kidney mites without chemicals
To destroy the pest of currants, you can use various methods without resorting to chemicals. These methods include:
Mechanical method of dealing with a tick
Before the leaves appear on the shrub, all inflated buds on the currants must be cut off and destroyed by burning. In this case, one must be extremely careful not to confuse and not destroy the buds with the color. After collecting the buds with mites, the currant bush must be doused with ordinary boiling water, you can water it with a simple watering can. This must be done in order to destroy the pests remaining outside the kidneys. If there are several currant bushes on the site, then this procedure will take a lot of time. In case of a lack of time in the fight against a tick, another method can be applied.
Use of biological agents
When leaves and inflorescences appear on currant bushes, it is necessary to spray the bushes with biological agents designed specifically for pest control. These funds include Fitoverm, Bitoxibacillin, Aktofit and other drugs.The processing of the bushes is carried out 3 times with an interval of 7 days.
The greatest effect in the destruction of pests with biological preparations is achieved only in the warm season. Since the currants turn green early enough, during the period of frosts and rains, the effectiveness of the drugs will be reduced.
Processing currant bushes in cold weather can be done using garlic instead of biological agents. To do this, crush 100 grams of garlic. Then dilute it well in 10 liters of water. It is recommended to apply the solution immediately after its preparation.
Radical pruning of bushes
Using this method, you need to cut out all branches infected with a tick to the base. Gradually, young shoots form a new currant bush. Its growth must be closely monitored and, in the event of the appearance of kidneys infected with a tick, they must be immediately destroyed.
How to get rid of a tick on currants with pesticides
Colloidal sulfur is the most effective means of killing a kidney mite. The drug is used to spray the currant bushes themselves, and the plot of land around it at the stage of bud swelling and until the end of the flowering period of the plant. For spraying, you can use drugs such as Kinmix, Apollo, Endidor and others.
Prevention of the appearance of a kidney mite on currants
Prevention of the appearance of the pest should be started at the stage of planting seedlings. First of all, you need to check the quality of the seedlings. If a seedling was purchased from a special nursery, then you can be sure that preventive treatment has been carried out with it, and it is not infected. If the cuttings were offered by neighbors, then it is better to process them before planting.
The processing of seedlings can be done in two ways:
- The water must be brought to a temperature of forty-five degrees, the cuttings of the seedlings must be placed in it for 20 minutes and then kept in the prepared solution from Fitoverm for two hours;
- Prepare a tea infusion 24 hours before planting the seedlings, for this, dilute the tea in a volume of 25 grams in a bucket of water and place the cuttings there for three hours.
If currant bushes are already growing on the site, they can be protected from bud mites by phytoncidal plants. One of these plants is garlic, which the kidney mite is afraid of. To do this, you need to plant ordinary garlic around the currant bushes every autumn. You can use the cloves of garlic directly as planting material, as well as the bulbs formed during the flowering of the plant and its shooting. Garlic phytoncides prevent the reproduction of the kidney mite and lead to its destruction.
