Before the time of harvest assembly from the garden, the vegetable grower will have to be pushed with a lot of problems in the plants: viral diseases, fungal infections, pests. Among them is an onion fly, whose "victims" are mostly onions. If your garden has attacked this pest, we will show you how to get rid of the onion fly and save your harvest.
How does the onion fly look like?
Onion fly in appearance is similar to the usual room, familiar to everyone. This is a small insect of ash-gray color up to 7 mm long. And the greatest harm is brought not by an adult individual, but by the larvae of an onion fly. Concerning when the onion fly appears, usually after wintering in the pupa stage, the insect flies in April-May (when dandelions, lilacs, cherry trees blossom) when warm weather is established. Female individuals onion flies lay their eggs right in the soil of the beds, where you planted onions. It happens that the pest lays its eggs right on the onion seedlings. On the 7-10th day, larvae of onion flies appear - white worms. They immediately begin to feed on the neck of the onion, eat scales and flesh, as a result of which the plant simply dies: the onion begins to fade, become gray, fall behind in growth and rot. Recognize the initial stage of the defeat of onion beds can by drying the tips of feathers and light yellowness. By the way, the pest prefers not only onions, but also garlic, leeks, chives.
How to destroy the onion fly?
Since the damage caused by the larvae of this insect is quite appreciable, gardeners are advised to fight them. There are a variety of methods with the use of chemical and home remedies. To the preparations from the onion fly, for example, are "Mukhoed", "Bazudin", which are introduced to the soil surface when planting onions, "KARATE ZEON", "Aktara", they need to spray plants during active growth. But since these products are insecticides and contain harmful chemicals accumulated in onions, many site owners prefer home-made ways to protect onions from onion flies:
- It is recommended to treat the onion from the onion fly with saline solution. To do this, in 10 liters of water, you must dissolve 300 g of table salt. Plant shoots, reaching 5-6 cm in height, need to be watered with this composition. Then, after 4-5 hours, the plant needs to be rinsed with salt. The next treatment should be done after 10 days, taking 400 g of salt for the preparation of the solution.
- You can use a decoction of a dandelion - this is exactly what the onion fly is afraid of. It is prepared from 200 g of plant roots and 10 liters of water. By the way, it is advised to alternate irrigation with saline solution and decoction of dandelion.
- An effective means against the onion fly is the spraying of beds with the infusion of tobacco. On a bucket of water you need to take half a kilogram of tobacco and insist for two days.
- Measures to combat the onion fly include the additional feeding of the site with ammonium salt. This nitrogen fertilizer not only improves yield, but also scares off the pest!
- Effective methods of combating onion fly include pollination of beds with a mixture of tobacco dust and ground pepper, taken from 1 teaspoon, and 200 g of wood ash. After the procedure, weeding should be done.
In addition, preventive measures should be taken
- When planting a row of onions alternate with rows of carrots, as the pest does not tolerate the smell of this vegetable.
- Observe the rules of crop rotation: in one place, alternately plant different vegetables. Onions should be returned in 4 years.
- In autumn, dig up the site so that the onion fly larvae freeze in winter.
Hopefully, our advice on how to deal with onion fly and other onion pests will help save your plants and get a wonderful harvest as a result.