About the raspberry beetle (raspberry) and other pests: methods of control and prevention

Not only adults and children love raspberries. Various insects are also not averse to feasting on it. The greatest danger among them is the raspberry beetle. In everyday life it is often called raspberry. Pest settlements in the bushes can lead to the most unpleasant consequences. The plant begins to wither, the beetle larvae make the berries unsuitable for consumption and sale, and significantly reduce the yield. Preventive measures and the right strategy for exterminating raspberry beetles will help get rid of them once and for all.

Stem gall midge

Gall midge is the formation of new growths on young shoots.
The growth is parasitized by small organisms that poison the shoot and lead to its death. The larvae themselves are almost invisible to the naked eye, their size is only 1-2 millimeters. In spring, the growth cracks, and small mosquitoes form from it, which continue laying eggs on neighboring branches. Insects tolerate winter well and do not die out. The defeat of gall midges in the initial stages may be invisible, but with the onset of August the growths already become visible. The only sure way to combat the parasite is to trim the visible growth. The entire growth is cut off from the shoot, and the cut site is filled with garden varnish. Instead of pitch, you can use hydrogen peroxide, clay, or oil paint. Even the affected shoot, from which the growth has been cut, continues to grow and bear fruit. Stem gall midge is not considered a dangerous disease; it is easily cured and does not cause consequences.

How to protect raspberries from pests

Timely implementation of preventive measures of agrotechnical nature and the use of folk remedies in most cases make it possible to avoid the use of chemicals.

Agrotechnical methods of protection

When planting raspberries, you need to take into account that they cannot be planted after strawberries, potatoes and tomatoes due to the common pests. The best predecessors for this crop are lettuce, spinach, onions, radishes and beets.

Autumn fall plowing (digging) of raspberry rows plays an important role in pest control. 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 buried to such a depth from where they can no longer escape.

It is recommended to use the following agrotechnical preventive measures:

• careful care of plants;
• weed control;
• thinning thickened areas of raspberries;
• timely cutting and removal of fruiting stems (immediately after the end of fruiting);
• cleaning and burning of plant residues in raspberry plantations;
• mulching the soil under the bushes with a thick layer (at least 8 cm) so that pests cannot crawl to the surface;
• cutting out damaged raspberry shoots with galls (damaged shoot gall midges and gallworms) and burning them;
• low cutting (near the ground without leaving stumps) of fruit-bearing, as well as weak and underdeveloped stems damaged by bud moth;
• cutting and burning the tips of shoots infested with aphids;
• collecting and burning damaged buds with eggs and weevil larvae;
• systematic cutting and burning of wilting stems damaged by raspberry flies;
• shaking off weevils and raspberry beetles from bushes onto linen or gauze shields or nets;
• harvesting raspberries in a container lined inside with linen, followed by the destruction of all raspberry beetle larvae that have crawled out of the berries and remained at the bottom of the container;
• catching cutworms using light traps and trapping containers with odorous baits;
• planting pest-repellent plants such as calendula, marigolds, garlic, dill and others in raspberry rows.

Folk remedies

Using “grandmother’s recipes” to control raspberry pests will be absolutely harmless. There are quite a few 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 set 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 biological preparations, you should not abuse chemicals. Timely preventive measures will allow you to obtain a decent harvest of environmentally friendly products.

May beetle: how to fight?

In the garden

What to do if the cockchafer is infested in the garden? First of all, deciduous trees (birch, sea buckthorn, plum, apple, cherry) and bushes (strawberries, lilacs, currants, etc.) will have to be protected from encroachers on the garden.

In the mornings and evenings, beetles gather on vegetation for a meal; most often the weather is calm and cool.

It is during this period that you can check all the trees and bushes, shaking off uninvited guests to the ground.

Use, when beetle activity is practically zero, wide sheets of film and long poles for more convenient collection of pests. The insects found can be used as fish bait or poultry feed. Otherwise, it is better to trample or burn them.

Scientists' observations have shown that an average family of starlings is capable of catching about 6-8 thousand adults and larvae of cockchafers in just one nesting period. Attracting such allies will significantly facilitate the fight not only against Khrushchev, but also other harmful insects.

How to fight the cockchafer in the garden? There are plants whose aroma or substances secreted by stems and roots cause persistent hostility in insects. For chafers, these include mustard, marigolds, beans, turnips, elderberries, lupines, white clover and various varieties of cabbage.

If you plant any of these plants in the garden near trees or bushes that are attractive to the pest, then the cockchafer is unlikely to settle in your area.

To prevent beetles from laying eggs in your garden, place various obstacles on the ground. These can be walnut shells, hard tree bark, eggshells, shavings or straw. Thanks to such a protective layer of mulch, the beetles will not be able to easily and quickly penetrate underground, and will most likely go in search of better places for future offspring.

From folk remedies, onion solution can help, which is periodically watered on the soil in places where pests appear. You will need up to 1/3 of onion skins per bucket of water. The solution will be ready for use after 4-5 days. Then it can be diluted again with water. It is not necessary to water the plants themselves with the solution - just the soil.

In strawberry

How to get rid of the cockchafer on strawberries? Especially to repel the cockchafer, plantings of berries such as strawberries, raspberries and strawberries are prepared and sprayed with various solutions.

For 10 l. of water you will need to dilute 1-3 tablespoons of ammonia or 15 drops of iodine per 10 liters.

It is optimal to spray garden bushes 2-3 times at intervals of a week. The weather should be warm and not rainy.

How to treat raspberries against chlorosis

Raspberry chlorosis can be caused by various reasons, including depleted soils, increased acidity, poor drainage, etc.
But we will talk about infectious vein chlorosis (Raspberry vein chlorosis), a viral disease. Its main feature is the yellowing of the leaves primarily along the veins, which then passes to the entire leaf blade. As a result, the leaves turn brown, the shoots become elongated and thin, and the berries dry out without ripening. The plant weakens and dies. Active carriers of the chlorosis virus are aphids and mites. Infection can also occur during grafting of a diseased plant onto a healthy one, when the juice of diseased crops gets on a cut of a healthy one, or when using an undisinfected instrument.

Measures to prevent and combat infectious chlorosis:

• Plant seedlings that are known to be healthy (preferably with increased resistance to this disease), purchased from trusted manufacturers. These are raspberry varieties: Kolkhoznitsa, Cornish Victoria, Russian Harvest, etc.
• Disinfect garden tools with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate before starting pruning and other procedures.
• Control insect pests.
• Promptly remove and burn damaged raspberry leaves and shoots.
• Do not forget to feed healthy plants (humus, peat and compost once every 2-3 years at the rate of 5-6 kg per 1 sq.m.).

Harmful insects on raspberries

Many gardeners grow raspberries on their property; usually several types of plants are grown at once. No matter what varieties grow, pests will still find something to profit from. Many beetles eat raspberries; most often, certain species can be found on raspberry bushes.

Raspberry beetle

White insects on raspberries with a dark head are nothing more than the larva of the raspberry beetle. Larvae appear in early summer from eggs laid by adults. They do a lot of harm; their diet consists immediately of leaves, and then of buds and fruits. It is the raspberry beetle larva that is one of the main culprits in reducing the yield; it simply eats away the flower from the inside.

Adults are no less dangerous; a larva that has overwintered in the ground appears with the first rays of sunlight in the form of a beetle:

• small size, up to 4 mm;
• the body is oval, slightly elongated;
• color gray.

Raspberry stem fly

The insect itself is harmless to the bush, but the deposited larvae can cause a lot of trouble. The insect lays eggs in May-June, and the hatched larvae begin to destroy young shoots. Starting from the axils of young leaves, the young growth gradually moves along annual branches, gnawing entire tunnels there. After this, more than 80% of the affected branches die, and with them the crop.

You can recognize a raspberry fly by the following external signs:

• small insect size;
• body color is grayish;
• there are two pairs of wings;
• loves to relax on raspberry bushes.

You can fight the insect and its larvae in different ways. They are treated with Bordeaux mixture, Iskra, Confidor, Fitoverm.

Raspberry beetle and raspberry stem fly

Raspberry bud moth

Red beetles on raspberries are quite voracious; they eat out the bud and penetrate inside the stem, destroying the raspberry tree almost completely. This pest is the larva of the kidney moth, which raises its offspring in this way.

The insect has this appearance:

• small butterfly;
• wings dark with light spots;
• the body is slightly oval, elongated.

Stem gall midge

The appearance of this pest can be recognized by the characteristic swellings under the bark of annual raspberry shoots. There is no doubt that this is where the cluster of orange caterpillars, which have hatched from the laid eggs as adults, will be located.

Small brown bugs are very fond of raspberry bushes; just during the flowering period, it is time to lay eggs, from which the pest will develop in the future.

Strawberry-raspberry weevil

Black bugs harm not only raspberries; weevils can ruin crops and other garden favorites. The main problem is the eggs laid directly into the bud, from which small caterpillars hatch. They devour the brushes, and from mid-summer they become full-fledged adult beetles and switch to raspberry leaves and stems.

Spider mite

These green beetles weave thin webs from the back of the leaf, which then dry out, sometimes this can kill many plants. The control methods used for spider mites are identical to the preventive ones for the vineyard.

A photo of the raspberry beetle will help you decide on the name; then the gardener himself will decide how best to combat the pest on his site.

Raspberry pests

Other raspberry pests

Next, we consider other raspberry pests found in home gardens.

Gray armyworm
The gray armyworm, or large gray armyworm Eurois occulta L. (syn.Agro-tis occulta L.) , is a large butterfly with a wingspan of 40-42 mm. The forewings are brownish-gray with a bluish tint, whitish transverse lines and a white ring-shaped spot. Near the end of the wings there is a wavy line, partly breaking up into wedge-shaped spots of black color. The hind wings are brown-gray with white fringe. The caterpillar is large, thick, 60-66 mm long. Its back is dark brown, with four transverse white warts on each segment and yellowish dorsal and paradorsal lines, from which oblique lines extend. The sides of the caterpillar are yellowish-brown, with a dark-brown spotted line with white dots and a yellow stripe with reddish spots. Brown pupa. The development and feeding of caterpillars occurs in May. The armyworm damages raspberries, blueberries, rosehips, many shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Control measures. Preventive spraying of bushes in the spring when leaves bloom with one of the preparations: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, kinmiks, spark, Inta-Vir.
Blackish garden armyworm
The blackish garden armyworm, or bitter armyworm Mamestra persicariae L., is a butterfly with a wingspan of 42-45 mm. The forewings are almost black with a violet or bluish tint, with black transverse stripes and an indistinct wavy line. The hind wings are grayish, with a wide border. Caterpillars are up to 40 mm long, gray-green or brown, with a dark chest shield and three light lines, a yellow head with a reticulate pattern. On the 11th segment of the body there is a velvety green dark tubercle. In the middle of the back there is a narrow yellowish line, on the sides of which on each segment there are dark oblique strokes rounded at the back in the form of wedge-shaped spots. The pupa is dark brown with a reddish tint. Feeding and development of caterpillars is observed in August-September. The caterpillars are polyphagous and damage the leaves of fruit and forest crops, berry bushes and various herbaceous plants. They cause great harm to fruit nurseries and seedlings, completely gnawing off the leaves.

Control measures. If there are a large number of caterpillars, spray with one of the following drugs: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, kinmiks, spark, Inta-Vir.
Golden raspberry cutworm
Golden raspberry cutworm Xanthia fulvago L. - a night butterfly with a wingspan of up to 33 mm. The caterpillars are gray-brown with a white line on the back, a gray lateral stripe and blackish oblique lines. It feeds in May, eating buds and blooming young raspberry leaves.

Control measures. Preventive spraying of bushes when leaves bloom with one of the preparations: fufanon, kemifos, actellik.

Brown-gray garden cutworm
Brown-gray garden cutworm Mamestra sop-tigua Schiff. (syn. Polia contigua Vill.) - a night butterfly with a wingspan of 40-42 mm. The forewings are brown-gray with indistinct spots. The hind wings are light gray. The caterpillars are yellow-green or reddish-yellow with a reddish line on the back, with oblique lines of the same color and one light stripe on the sides. The pupa is dark, red-brown. The flight of butterflies is observed in June-July; after fertilization, the females lay eggs on the leaves of plants. The hatched caterpillars feed and develop in August, gnawing on leaves. Having finished feeding, the caterpillars pupate in the soil. One generation develops. The armyworm damages raspberries, blueberries, and is found on deciduous trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants.

Control measures. If there are a large number of caterpillars, spray after picking berries with one of the following preparations: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, kinmiks, spark, Inta-Vir.

Girl Bear Girl
Bear Callimorpha dominula L. is a nocturnal moth with a wingspan of 45-55 mm. The wings fold over the back in a roof-shaped manner in the form of a triangle. The forewings are bluish-black with small and few white and yellow rounded spots, the hind wings are red or orange with black spots along the edge, sometimes large and merging. The caterpillars are 37-40 mm long, black-blue with blue-gray warts and yellow stripes, covered with fine hairs. Adult caterpillars have spots on the back and sides. The caterpillars feed in September-October and after wintering in May. They damage the leaves of strawberries, raspberries, and nettles, and are found on willows and poplars.

Control measures. Preventive spraying of bushes when leaves bloom with one of the following preparations: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, kinmiks, spark, Inta-Vir. If the number of caterpillars is large, spraying with the same preparations is carried out in the fall.

Blackish fathead
Blackish fathead Hesperia sao Hb . - a small dark brown butterfly with a wingspan of 18-20 mm. The head is large, the antennae are black and club-shaped. White spots are clearly visible on the dark brown wings; the underside of the wings is brown with light veins. The caterpillar is 16-20 mm long, dark brown with light dots, the head is black, densely covered with hairs. Caterpillars overwinter in rolled raspberry and blackberry leaves. They pupate in the spring and butterflies emerge in May. After fertilization, females lay eggs on young leaves. The hatched caterpillars feed on leaves, gluing them together with cobwebs, just like leaf roller caterpillars.

Two generations develop in a year. First generation butterflies fly in May-June, second generation butterflies fly in July-August. The caterpillars feed in June-July and September-October, damaging raspberry and blackberry leaves in dense plantings.

Control measures. Preventive spraying of bushes when leaves bloom with one of the following preparations: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, kinmiks, spark, Inta-Vir. If there are a large number of caterpillars, spray with the same preparations after picking the berries.

• Author: Tatyana
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Processing raspberries as a means of preventing worms in berries

The worm spoils ripe raspberries. To protect raspberry bushes from worms, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures. A way to treat raspberries in the spring against worms:

• In early spring, the bushes are watered with hot water (80 degrees). It is recommended to douse bushes and soil;
• In the fall, the area with raspberries must be dug up, the remaining weeds must be removed, and the soil must be mulched. Humus, peat, sawdust, and compost are used as mulching materials. Worms living on the soil surface cannot get out from under the mulch layer;
• During the flowering period, worms can be collected by hand. The surest way to quickly remove worms from raspberries and clean all the bushes is to spread the film on the ground and shake the raspberry bushes. Carefully collect and burn fallen worms;
• A popular way to treat raspberries for worms in the berries: the bushes are sprayed with a soda solution (10 g soda plus 5 liters of water) or mustard infusion.

Pests can cause serious damage to a gardener. They can damage raspberry bushes and ruin the harvest

Therefore, it is important to carefully inspect the bushes in spring and summer and promptly destroy them when insects appear. Knowing how to get rid of worms in raspberries, weevils, flies, and bedbugs, you can grow a large harvest of aromatic, delicious berries

Fighting raspberry flies, bedbugs and weevils

How to understand that it’s time to throw away strawberry bushes

In addition to the raspberry beetle, the bushes can be attacked by the raspberry fly, bug or weevil. If a pest attacks an area where raspberries grow, the gardener will be left without a harvest.

To combat raspberry stem fly, chemical and biological preparations and folk methods are used.

Aggressive drugs against raspberry flies:

• Aktellik;
• Spark;
• Karbofos;
• Confidor.
• Biological agents:
• Agravertine;
• Fitoverm.

Folk remedies used include Bordeaux mixture and soda solution.

Bugs (sorrel, green, wood, berry) threaten raspberry bushes. If dried berries appear, this is the result of bugs working on raspberries. Adult insects feed on juice from ovaries, buds, leaves and berries.

To get rid of unwanted pests, a comprehensive approach to bed bug control is used. The following medications are used for the raspberry bug:

• Fufanon;
• Aktellik;
• Spark;
• Kemifos.

Weevils pose a danger to raspberry bushes and strawberries. When laying out beds for berries, it is recommended to place raspberries and strawberries further away.

Fufanon

To prevent weevil damage to bushes, comprehensive measures must be taken. Measures to combat weevils on raspberries:

• Inspection of the bush. Each time, collect and destroy fallen leaves and buds;
• In the fall, dig up the area where raspberries grow;
• Spread the film in early spring, shake off all the beetles from the bushes and burn them;
• Using special traps for the raspberry and strawberry weevil.

Traditional methods:

• Infusion of onion and celandine;
• Tansy decoction;
• A mixture of laundry soap, mustard and water;
• You can plant garlic next to the bed where the raspberries grow; this will repel the weevil.

Raspberry stem fly (Chortophila dentiens Pand)

A small (up to 7 mm long) flying insect of a brownish-gray color with transparent wings. It damages raspberries and blackberries in May (depending on the ambient temperature) during the period of shoot growth. The female lays eggs in the axils of young shoots, which leads (as the larva develops) to the necrosis of tissue above the area where the eggs are laid. The larvae gnaw through the stem and rush to the base of the shoots. The stems turn black, dry out, and bluish rings appear around the passages. The larvae move to the base of the stem, after which they settle there for the winter.

In the spring, after the soil warms up to 13-15°C, raspberry flies fly to the surface, and the cycle repeats. Often weakened and rotten shoots mislead gardeners, who mistake this for isolated cases of disease or damage. The main thing is to have time to cut off and burn the wilted tops of the shoots just below the egg laying site in order to prevent the larva from going inside the stem for the winter. But this measure is relevant only until the larvae hatch from the eggs.

Most raspberry pests are very difficult to detect due to the fact that they are small and hide in shoots and stems. Therefore, be careful, do not neglect the garden and remember that only timely prevention and treatment will help get rid of garden scourges.

Characteristics of pests and control options

Raspberries are a whimsical crop that requires full and competent care. If there are errors in agricultural technology, not only does the yield of shrubs decrease, but also the immunity decreases. Such bushes are more often attacked by numerous pests and suffer more diseases.

The gardener needs to carefully monitor the plantings, notice the slightest changes in the growth, development, and appearance of the crop. A description with photographs will help determine who you have to fight.

Raspberry beetle

In addition to raspberries, this bug is dangerous for blackberries. The life cycle is one year, producing one generation of larvae. The adult individual (imago) does not exceed 4 mm in size and is gray-black. The entire body is covered with yellowish hairs.

Damages leaves, buds, flowers and berries of the crop. Female beetles lay eggs from spring to mid-summer. The larvae are yellowish caterpillars that feed on the raspberry fruit and gnaw at the base of the berries. This leads to deformation and rotting of the raspberries. Later, the larvae end up in the ground, where they pupate, turn into beetles and overwinter until next spring.

On a note! The use of any chemical insecticides is permitted only before the raspberry flowering phase and after harvesting the berries.

Raspberry glass

Having seen black-blue butterflies with transparent wings, similar in appearance to wasps, near the berry garden in May or early June, the gardener must treat the raspberries with insecticides. This will save you from laying eggs of an insidious pest - the raspberry glass. The adults are not dangerous, but the larvae damage the core of the shoots of the bush, which leads to drying out and death of the plant.

Raspberry glass

The main sign of infection of raspberry plants for parents such as raspberry glass is the formation of characteristic swellings on the shoots. In addition, in the area you can see a blue-black butterfly, resembling a wasp in appearance, with bright yellow stripes on its belly. However, it is not butterflies that damage plants.

The damage is caused by their larvae - white caterpillars with a brownish head. The eggs are laid by the female near the base of the shoots, and some time later the caterpillars emerge from them and, crawling under the bark, make spiral-shaped wormholes in it.

The larvae penetrate inside the shoot and remain there to overwinter. A thickening appears in this place. After wintering, the caterpillar moves inside the stem, gnaws a hole at the base, and then pupates. The butterfly flies out of the hole after the raspberries bloom and lays eggs again. Shoots damaged by glass cells stop bearing fruit, wither, become brittle and dry out quickly.

The fight against glassware is:

• removing shoots that have borne fruit;
• cutting off affected bushes almost to the root and then burning them;
• periodically loosening the soil around each bush;
• thorough inspection of planting material;
• treatment of raspberries against glass glass pests with Karbofos. Spraying is carried out before the first leaves appear and before flowering begins.

Raspberry-strawberry weevil (Anthonomus rubi)

It will not be possible to hide strawberry and raspberry plantings from this pest - the beetles quickly spread and migrate imperceptibly from area to area. The losses of strawberries in this case amount to up to 90%, and raspberries - up to 50-60%.

The size of adult individuals does not exceed 2-3 mm. They overwinter under dead plant remains and lumps of earth. As the soil temperature rises to 13°C, the beetles come to the surface and begin to feed on young green leaves. During the season, the female lays up to 50 eggs, and first she leaves “nests” in the bushes of early varieties of strawberries, and then “proceeds” to raspberries.

The raspberry flower beetle causes the greatest harm by destroying flower buds. The female lays eggs in them and gnaws the peduncle. After a few days, the weakened flower falls to the ground. The eggs hatch into larvae that first feed on the pulp of the bud and then “switch” to the leaves. The weevil can be detected by pinholes or small holes in the leaves at the beginning of spring, damaged, fallen, weakened buds hanging literally on one thread.

Measures to combat the raspberry-strawberry weevil:

Protecting raspberries from pests: spring work

Most gardeners associate the retreat of winter cold and the beginning of snow melting with the beginning of the home gardening season.

When the threat of return frosts has passed and the sun's activity increases, it's time to worry about the health of berry bushes, including currants and raspberries.

It is more practical to cultivate raspberry bushes immediately after loosening the soil and applying organic fertilizers.

To prevent the spread of infections carried by raspberry pests, the root zone of plants is mulched with rotted manure. The bacteriological environment suppresses a number of viruses and spores that are dangerous to berry bushes.

Universal means for preventive spraying include broad-spectrum insecticides:

If you treat your plantings with these preparations twice a year, in spring and autumn, you will not encounter the problem of a large number of pests attacking raspberries throughout the entire season.

In the case where attacks by certain types of insects have already been noted on your garden plot, you should additionally treat the bushes with highly specialized means:

Aphid repellent

Small pests are incredibly voracious and multiply very quickly

Therefore, during the period when the first leaves appear, it is important to additionally treat the bushes a second time with a standard set of preparations: As a rule, pests overwinter in soil or plant debris and attack weakened plants

As a rule, pests overwinter in soil or plant debris and attack weakened plants.

Spring treatment is combined with cleaning the root zone of fallen leaves and sanitary pruning of shrubs.

Who eats raspberries - 5 most dangerous pests

Adding an article to a new collection

Raspberries are susceptible to pest attacks no less than other plants. Moreover, insects are most attracted to buds and shoots. It is not easy to detect “enemies” in raspberries, but knowing their “weak points”, you will be able to resist the most united “army”.

Small midges or inconspicuous bugs crawling through raspberry bushes seem harmless only at first glance. In fact, these pests can be very dangerous and leave virtually no chance for a good harvest. How to recognize the main “eaters” of raspberries?

Prevention

To limit the spread of raspberry beetle pests, it is recommended to use the following preventive measures:

It is not recommended to plant raspberries next to apple and pear trees. The beetle flies out in early spring, at which time it feeds on the flowers of fruit trees. Apple and pear trees bloom in early spring, and it is on them that the raspberry beetle rushes after spending the night. If raspberries are placed next to flowering trees, the risk of fruit damage increases greatly. Regularly feed plants with organic fertilizers. Be sure to add ash solution to the soil. It is recommended to use an ash solution for treating shrubs by spraying. In early spring, before flowering, it is useful to spray raspberries with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture. It is useful to carry out deep plowing of the soil in the spring. The procedure will help destroy insect burrows and destroy them. Organize regular watering for crops. Do not allow the soil to dry out or become waterlogged. Be sure to thin out the raspberries every year. It is necessary to trim overgrown branches and bushes to ensure air flow to the plants. After harvesting, be sure to dig up the soil near the raspberry tree. It is first recommended to sprinkle a thick layer of tobacco dust on the surface of the soil, then dig the ground deeply. This procedure will help bring insects hidden for the winter to the surface.

Tobacco dust that gets into deep soil layers will serve as an additional prevention of the spread of the pest. It is important to carry out regular inspection of shrubs. If larvae or adults are found, it is necessary to urgently get rid of them

It is advisable to best inspect plants in the early morning; at this moment, insects are in a passive state, so they are easy to detect and collect.

First spring treatment

Beginning of the growing season. Young green leaves. Budding on the eve of flowering. Somewhere five to seven days before the bush blooms, the first spring treatment is carried out.

Preparations for treatment:

• Urea;
• Inkstone;
• Ash;
• Bordeaux mixture;
• Dolomite;
• Nitrophen;
• Karbofos;
• Lime;
• Copper sulfate;
• Topaz;
• Agravertine.

How to use urea

This substance is used not only for protection, but also to strengthen plants. In early spring, you need to purchase the drug and, before flowering has yet begun, add urea at the rate of 20 g of the substance per 1 m² of planting. This will saturate the plant with the nitrogen it needs for good fruiting and make it less susceptible to diseases.

How to use copper sulfate

This substance will minimize or completely avoid fungal diseases to which raspberries are susceptible.

A mixture of 50 g of copper sulfate and 5 liters of water base is applied using a dispersed method to the soil in the tree trunk circle, stems, starting from the base. Such early spring treatment is especially recommended for those shrubs on which there are prerequisites for the occurrence of anthracnose and gray rot.

Treatment with Bordeaux mixture

Another affordable and useful drug in all respects that protects against many diseases. Among the diseases that disappear after such treatment are powdery mildew, as well as rust and anthracnose. The composition of the mixture for treatment is as follows - a one percent water-based solution of Bordeaux mixture

All bushes are generously sprayed completely, special attention is paid to the stems from the surface of the soil. An equivalent to this remedy may be Nitrofen or Topaz

Other methods of protection

Since one of the main reasons for the penetration of infection and attack by pests on the bush is its weakened state after winter, it is necessary to regulate the humidity and acidity of the soil on which the raspberry tree is located.

1. You can reduce humidity and avoid the formation of mold by deliberately reducing watering, especially if the spring was rainy.
2. To reduce and normalize acidity, use wood ash, dolomite or slaked lime (about one hundred and fifty grams per square meter).
3. The most popular folk remedy is mustard. Dry mustard powder is used in an amount of 20 g. It must be mixed in ten titres of cool water, left for 12 hours, and then completely sprayed on all plants.
4. Another safe folk remedy is baking soda. For a ten-liter container you will need 40-50 g of soda powder.
5. Just before flowering, it is good to treat the bush with an infusion of wormwood, tansy flowers or a decoction of marigolds.
6. Most pests can be gotten rid of if you use the drug Agravertin. In this case, the procedure is repeated after a certain period (from one to two weeks).

For treatment during the pre-budding period, an infusion of fresh or dried tansy flowers is prepared. You will need 350 g of dry herb per five-liter container, about a kilogram of raw herb. The infusion should be kept for 24 hours. Then it is subject to boiling for half an hour. And only after this, filtered and cooled, it is added with water in an equal amount taken and used to irrigate the entire bush.

Butterfly class

This class contains a variety of raspberry pests that look like butterflies.

The first representative of the class is the noctuid. There are two types:

Raspberry golden - there are bright yellow wings with gray-brown spots on them. The caterpillars live on raspberries and blackberries and feed on their leaves.

The gray ground caterpillar is twice the size of this butterfly. It feeds on raspberry leaves from late May until autumn.

How to fight? If there are holes in the raspberry leaves in the garden, there is no better method than treating them with an insecticide.

The second pest butterfly is the raspberry glasswing. It looks like a wasp: the body is blue-black, with yellow circles, the wings are transparent. The insect lays eggs in the soil near the raspberry shoot.

If there is insufficient movement of juices in the stems, the yield decreases, the shoots grow poorly and become brittle.

Another butterfly that harms raspberries is the raspberry bud moth. It is brown in color and has yellow spots on its wings.

It is the moth larvae that are dangerous, not the adults. After all, only a larva can bite into a bud before flowering and completely destroy it, and then pupate in the stem. During raspberry flowering, the butterfly lays eggs in the receptacle. The emerging caterpillars are voracious. They eat the fruit and move down the stem to the shoots, where they overwinter, making a cocoon.

From the end of May to September, leaf rollers also attack raspberries. This is also a brown, brown or yellow butterfly. The leaf roller caterpillar infects the leaves. She weaves a web around the leaves so that they curl. It can cause harm during the flowering period to buds, buds, and, as a result, the berry itself.

How to fight? Various types of insecticides are used - chemical ones: Iskra Double Effect, Fufan, Inta-Vir, karbofos emulsions; biological - Actofit, Lepidotsid, Mospilan.

For prevention in the fall, old shoots and growths are removed, and the lower part of the shoots is generously sprayed with chemicals.

Description of the pest

The raspberry beetle belongs to the order Coleoptera. In addition to raspberries and blackberries, it additionally feeds on currants, gooseberries, cherries, and pears.

The pest lives everywhere, in any climatic zones where these crops can grow, including most of the European territory of Russia, Siberia, and the Caucasus.

External signs:

• oblong oval body up to 4.5 mm long;
• color dark gray, sometimes red;
• covered with smooth hairs (velor feel);
• the edges of the back and abdomen are of more saturated tones;
• has serrated claws and brown or yellowish antennae.

The eggs that the pest lays are white or yellow in color and capsule-shaped, 1 mm in diameter.

The yellowish worm larva has 3 pairs of active legs and single fibers on the body. There are dark spots on the segments. The larvae grow up to 0.65 cm.

Beetle control methods

The fight against this pest combines a number of agrotechnical techniques, as well as preventive and therapeutic treatment of plantings.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the features of autumn planting raspberries.

Agrotechnical techniques

The fight against raspberry beetles must begin with simple agricultural techniques:

1. Perform deep digging of the soil in autumn and spring. Thanks to this, the number of pupae that overwinter in the soil is significantly reduced. At the same time, add wood ash and tobacco dust to the soil.
2. In the warm season, sprinkle the soil around the bush with mulch to prevent insects from leaving the soil. Crushed peat, sawdust or humus are suitable for this.
3. Before flowering, spread a tarp under the plants and shake off insects from the branches, then destroy them. Carry out the procedure early in the morning, when the beetle is inactive.
4. To plant raspberry bushes, choose a place as far as possible from apple and pear trees - raspberry beetles use these plants as additional food.
5. Before flowering, the bushes can be covered with gauze or agrofibre - this will protect the plant from the harmful effects of the pest.
6. Regularly inspect the plantings, manually collect damaged fruits, and then burn them.
7. In early spring, carry out preventive treatment of the soil around the bushes with Bordeaux mixture at a concentration of 2%.

Ground beetles are considered the natural enemies of the raspberry beetle. These are fairly large beetles, usually black in color, and belong to one of the most common families of these insects. To attract ground beetles closer to raspberries, you need to plant garlic or onions next to them.

Biological products

To destroy this pest, the drug “Guapsin” is widely used, which has a very good result in the fight against raspberry beetles - up to 94%.

2% Bitoxibacillin has the same properties. Treatment with biological products should be carried out twice: before the appearance of buds and before the flowers bloom.

Chemicals

Treatment with insecticidal agents is carried out twice a year: before and after flowering.

The following drugs are used for this:

1. “Iskra” is a tablet product that is dissolved in water at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 liters of liquid.
2. "Karbofos" - it is used when a large number of beetles are detected. 90 g of the active substance must be diluted in 10 liters of water.
3. “Kinmiks” or “Confidor” are emulsions prepared according to the included instructions. To treat 1 bush you need 1.5 liters of working solution.
4. “Fufanon” at a concentration of 0.1% is recommended for high degrees of damage in the bud formation phase.

Important! When working with any of these chemicals, you must use protective equipment - a respirator and gloves

Traditional methods

In addition to chemicals, there are also a number of folk ways to combat this pest:

1. Potassium permanganate solution. An aqueous solution is prepared from this substance: 1 g of active substance is needed per 20 liters of liquid. After the snow has melted, the resulting product is used to treat the soil under the bushes.
2. Mustard solution. The plant is treated with it before flowering. To do this, mix 100 g of mustard in a small amount of hot water until it reaches a creamy consistency. Then dilute the resulting mass with another 10 liters of water.
3. Tansy infusion. Infuse 700 g of the plant in 1 bucket of water for 24 hours, then bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes. Cool the infusion, strain and add another 10 liters of water.
4. Tobacco infusion. To obtain it, pour 1 cup of dry substance with 10 cups of water, then leave on fire for 2 hours. Before applying to the soil, dilute with water at a rate of 1:3.
5. Soda solution. Before the ovaries appear, the bushes need to be sprayed with this substance. For 10 liters of water you will need 1 tbsp. spoon of powder.

Treatment of plants must be carried out in dry and sunny weather.
In case of rain, the procedure should be repeated. Preventing pest damage to raspberry plantations is quite simple. First of all, it is necessary to comply with all norms of agricultural technology, and also not to forget about preventive treatments of raspberry bushes before and after flowering.

Control measures

Knowing the development cycle of this insect, it is easy to prevent its subsequent reproduction and protect the raspberry crop from damage. In this matter, timely agrotechnical techniques, delicate folk remedies, lethal chemicals and gentle biological products come to the rescue.

Agrotechnical techniques

Before you go on the warpath with the raspberry beetle, take a look at your raspberry bed - is it too thick? Since autumn and spring digging of soil between the rows of the berry garden, as well as regular loosening of the soil around the bushes can significantly reduce the number of pupated larvae and young beetles, take care of the convenience of carrying out such procedures and first thin out the raspberry plantings.

Thinning bushes will make it easier to care for plantings

Shortly before flowering, when the beetles begin to move en masse onto the raspberry bushes, spread a tarp, film or any other material under them, and then shake the branches vigorously. Collect and destroy pests that have lost their balance and fallen down. Some summer residents who have free time lovingly wrap raspberry bushes with light non-woven material shortly before the buds begin to form and remove the cover after the inflorescences bloom. Such a mechanical barrier significantly reduces the number of “new settlers” and protects the future harvest from damage.

Regularly remove weeds near raspberries

During the season, regularly remove weeds near the raspberry plantation and directly under the bushes - the beetles, after emerging from hibernation, first colonize the weeds. If there are no such “enticements” near the raspberry rows, the beetles will move to other places.

Folk remedies

According to reviews from experienced gardeners, the raspberry beetle loses its position under the influence of ordinary mustard powder. Based on this traditional kitchen product, you need to prepare a solution of 10 liters of water and 100 g of powder and generously moisten the raspberry bushes with it during the budding period and immediately after the petals fall from the flowers.

Methods to combat the raspberry beetle:

Spray raspberry bushes with a solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 0.5 grams of potassium permanganate per 1 bucket of water.

Some gardeners advise making onion and garlic beds near raspberries. These plants repel beetles and attract beneficial insects (ground beetles, hoverflies).

We spray raspberry bushes with fungicides or insecticides when buds appear. The drug “Fitoverm” helps many people very well, it keeps the defense up to three weeks. You can use Fufanon instead. Treatment is carried out at the end of May (when the cherry blossoms).

You can also try using emulsions of the drugs “Confidor”, “Kinmiks” (per 10 liters of water – 1 ampoule of 2.5 milliliters) and “Iskra” (per 10 liters of water – 1 tablet). The last of which can be found in almost any store. The solution consumption is 1-1.5 liters per 10 raspberry bushes.

During the formation of raspberry buds, you can simply shake off the beetles themselves onto special bedding laid out under the bushes on the ground, or simply into an upside-down open umbrella. All collected beetles must be destroyed. It is best to do this at the very beginning of raspberry flowering, early in the morning, at an air temperature of up to +12°C, when the beetles are still sleepy and inactive.

Among herbal remedies, tansy infusion is recommended (350 grams of dried herb per 5 liters of water). Infuse for a day, and then boil for 30 minutes, filter and add cold water, so that you end up with 10 liters of infusion.

Fading shoot tips should be cut off after 1-2 weeks.

In my personal opinion, successful control of the raspberry beetle should be carried out first of all before the raspberries bloom. We spray raspberry bushes with INTA-VIR (1 tablet per 10 liters of water). I was happy with the result, and no extra hassle with “shaking” the bushes.

It is necessary to loosen the soil under raspberry bushes in late autumn or early spring. In the fall, be sure to carry out additional digging of the soil in order to remove excess raspberry branches in addition to beetles. It is recommended to add charcoal or tobacco dust when digging.

By missing the moment of budding, we end up with wormy raspberries. The raspberry beetle does not cause particularly serious damage to the raspberry bushes themselves.

Beetle on a flower

Raspberry bud moth (Lampronia rubella Bjerk)

Variegated moths (the front wings are dark brown with small yellow-golden spots) usually settle in old, crowded and neglected gardens. The wingspan of the butterfly is about 1 cm, the caterpillars are 7-9 cm long, bright red in color with a shiny black head. The pest actively damages raspberry buds and shoots.

The caterpillars overwinter in small cocoons under loose bark, at the base of stumps, branches and under garden debris. In early spring, they crawl out onto the stems, bite into raspberry buds and eat away their contents. Over time, the buds swell and dry out, and the caterpillars eat away the shoots. Larvae living in the kidneys leave wormholes in them. Butterflies usually appear at the beginning of raspberry flowering and lay eggs directly into the flowers. Early raspberry varieties usually suffer more damage, since the main flowering time coincides with the period of mass egg laying by moths. In some years, losses range from 25 to 90% of the harvest.

Measures to combat raspberry bud moth:

Raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus)

The nasty little wriggling worms that spoil the whole impression of raspberries are the larvae of the raspberry beetle. Both they and adult individuals overwinter at a depth of 5-20 cm and in early spring feed only on nectar and weed pollen. And only then, having gained strength and become stronger, they switch to raspberries, currants and gooseberries.

The raspberry beetle is a small insect (up to 4 mm in length) that feeds on raspberry flowers and lays eggs directly in the berries. As the berries ripen, the larvae themselves grow and feed on the tender and juicy pulp. You can see them only by picking the berry, which makes it much more difficult to detect the pest. The period of beetle activity occurs in June, before the raspberries bloom. If you started processing strawberries earlier, then the beetle will move from them to raspberries somewhere in mid-to-late May.

Each female lays up to 40 eggs directly into the flowers. At the same time, she tries to lay one egg in each ovary in order to provide each larva with a “separate apartment.” If the worms were not detected, then in the fall they leave the fruits for the soil, where either the following spring or a season later they turn into adult beetles.

Description of the raspberry beetle

The insect pest that causes damage to berry bushes is called the raspberry beetle. In the natural environment, the raspberry beetle can settle on wild raspberry bushes, but it is also dangerous for varietal raspberries in a summer cottage.

A small bug can leave gardeners without raspberries. The pest must be controlled using comprehensive measures.

It is very difficult to notice the appearance of the raspberry beetle at the initial stage; the small insect is well camouflaged. Settling on raspberry leaves, the beetle begins to lay eggs on flowers and ovaries. The size of an adult insect is 4 mm. The beetle is light brown or yellow in color, the body is covered with small hairs.

Raspberry beetle

After mating, the raspberry beetle lays eggs, from which larvae soon emerge. In appearance they resemble a white worm. They grow up to 7 mm in length, the skin is covered with hairs. The larvae eat ripe raspberries, thereby spoiling their taste characteristics and marketable appearance. If the raspberries are wrinkled and begin to deteriorate, then the bushes are infected with the raspberry beetle.

With the onset of spring, the beetles become active. When the soil warms up to 12 degrees, they crawl out of the ground and approach the raspberry bushes. As the foliage grows, the raspberry beetle eats young leaves. Beetles move on the ground and in the air; they fly freely from bush to bush. If raspberries do not grow nearby, they move to garden trees.

On a note. The female lays eggs in the flower. A week later, the caterpillar hatches and begins to eat the raspberries. The female can lay up to 40 eggs.

The flower in which the larva develops begins to fade and become deformed. In 1.5 months, the caterpillars can completely damage the crop. Afterwards they descend and burrow into the ground to a depth of 20 cm. Having buried themselves in the ground, the larvae overwinter; the next year they pupate and crawl to the surface again in the form of a bug.

Raspberry beetle: description

The common raspberry beetle (imago) is an insect with an oval-shaped body and body dimensions from 3.8 to 4.3 mm. The color of the beetle is dark brown or grayish-black, the body is covered with hairs of a yellowish-golden, rusty, sometimes gray hue. The antennae and limbs are brown or yellow. The eggs are elliptical in shape and white. The beetle larvae look like caterpillars with a brown head and a yellow body, which is covered with sparse golden hairs; at the end of the body there are two spines turned upward. The size of the larva ranges from 6 to 6.5 mm.

Raspberry development cycle

Adults or larvae overwinter in the top fertile soil layer at a depth of 5 to 25 centimeters. In the spring (approximately mid-May), when the ground warms up to +12°C, 2 weeks before the raspberry bushes begin to bloom, the beetles crawl to the surface.

At the beginning of spring, adult insects eat young leaves and flowers of other plants (they eat pollen and stamens of cherry, dandelion and early flowering weeds) in order to begin to reproduce.

Feeding on pollen from forage plants accelerates the maturation of female reproductive products by 2 times, compared with a diet consisting only of raspberries.

After about 2 weeks, the pests move to the raspberries and feed on their buds. The raspberry beetle is found on rowan trees, apple trees, currants, pears, gooseberries, plums, blackberries and even bird cherry trees.

The female beetle lays eggs (20 or 30 pieces each) in raspberry flowers, on young ovaries and leaves. The timing of egg laying coincides with the raspberry flowering period.

The larvae that emerge from the eggs after 7–10 days immediately crawl into the berries, eat the drupes, feed on the raspberry fruit, live in the fruit until ripening, causing damage in the form of winding corridors or destroying it completely. After the berries ripen, some pests go into the ground to a depth of 15–20 cm in order to pupate, some remain in the berries until harvest. Later, around August, the pupae turn into overwintering young beetles.

The raspberry beetle has one generation and spreads by migration: the flight distance reaches 120 meters.

The spread of the pest is favored by raspberry cherry trees, apple trees, pears and dandelions growing near the bushes.

Maximum damage to raspberry fruits is observed in wet years; the raspberry beetle is especially active in the European part of Russia. Depending on the growing conditions of raspberries, damage to the crop can range from 10 to 50%; damaged berries become small, wither or rot, take on an ugly shape, and their color fades.

Description of the raspberry beetle

Name: Common raspberry beetle or raspberry beetle Lat.:
Byturus tomentosus

Class: Insects - Insecta Order: Coleoptera - Coleoptera Family: Raspberries - Byturidae

The raspberry beetle is also called the common raspberry beetle. This is a representative of the family of the same name, Raspberry Beetles, which, contrary to their name, eat not only raspberries.

The bugs are small, 3-4 mm. They are often gray, black and less often red, completely covered with gray or red hairs. Due to their small size, they can remain undetected for a long time.

Raspberry pests in pictures and how to combat them

There are other raspberry pests: the pictures below show individuals of both sexes. It tells about how the fight against them is carried out on a personal plot. Some are visible to the naked eye. Others can be recognized only by indirect signs of their presence.

Raspberry flea beetle

The raspberry flea beetle Batophila rubi is a small beetle with a body length of 1.4-2 mm, black with a blue tint. The beetle jumps well. It causes damage in July by skeletonizing leaves in the form of paths and small pits. Damages raspberries, less often honeysuckle. It occurs only rarely, so it does not cause much harm.

Control measures. Preventive spring spraying of bushes against a complex of pests with fufanon and its analogues also reduces the number of flea beetles. In case of large numbers, spraying is carried out in the summer.

The following shows these raspberry pests in pictures and the fight against them by spraying with insecticidal solutions:

Two-spotted lurker

Cryptocephalus biguttatus Scop. - a small beetle 4.5-6 mm long with a short stocky body. The head has a steep forehead and is pulled into the cervical shield. The elytra are black, with a wide red-yellow transverse spot at the apex. The legs, head and pronotum are black. In May-June it feeds on berry and ornamental bushes, gnawing young leaves.

Control measures. Collection and destruction of individual beetles, preventive and eradicative spraying with one of the drugs: fufanon, kemifos, actellik, spark, Inta-Vir.

Watch how raspberry pests are controlled in the video - the video demonstrates all the agrotechnical operations available to the gardener:

Treating raspberries in summer against kelevik pests: how to fight

Common spider mite
Before dealing with raspberry pests, Acanthosoma haemorrhoidalis L. , you need to understand that this is a large bug with a body length of 13-17 mm. The color is yellowish-green with small black dots, the abdomen, especially at the apex, is red, the first antennal segment is red, the prothorax spines are also red. The lateral angles of the pronotum are sharp and strongly elongated. The larvae are similar to adult insects, but smaller in size. They feed on the sap of the tissues of deciduous trees and shrubs.

Disease Prevention

You will not have to deal with the described pests if timely prevention of raspberries is carried out. The optimal season for preventive treatment is mid-April. The buds on the bush are still closed, but the circulation of juices is already proceeding in spring mode.

Many gardeners recommend dousing raspberries with boiling water after winter; this kills the larvae of many insects and repels them. Irrigation and watering of the soil near the trunks is carried out with copper sulfate (3% solution) or Bordeaux mixture. Boric acid and potassium permanganate have an antibacterial effect and cause the death of pest larvae.

In addition to using solutions, dry and lifeless raspberry branches should be cut off immediately, as pests like to settle in them. Onions or garlic are planted near raspberries. These crops repel insects because they have a pungent odor.

If you constantly monitor the development of the bush and pay attention to it from time to time, the raspberries will never become infected with pests. Even if infection occurs, it will be eradicated at a very early stage, so there will be no harm to the berries or the bush itself

In growing raspberries, it is of great importance to carry out pest prevention and monitor the condition of the crop.

Fight: 5 folk methods and 2 drugs

There are different ways to deal with raspberry flies, but it is best to use homemade ones.
Folk remedies are much safer and cheaper than store-bought ones, but they will not help against severe fly infestation. Traditional methods:

Purchased drugs:

When using chemicals, take precautions to avoid poisoning. Work only in a respirator and gloves, do not eat food while spraying, and then be sure to wash your face and hands and rinse your mouth

Photo: boleznisada.ru

Spider mites on raspberries

Spider mites cause great harm to raspberry bushes. This pest multiplies quickly, especially in dry times. Raspberry plantings that are too thick are at greatest risk. The fact that plants are infected with spider mites is eloquently indicated by yellowed and quickly falling leaves. It is in them that ticks spend the winter, and in the spring they continue their “activities”.

To get rid of spider mites, you need to:

1. Collect and burn foliage affected by the pest.
2. Immediately after harvesting, treat the bushes with Acrex.
3. In early spring, spray raspberry bushes with urea.

For those who have a high mite infestation of raspberries and who are concerned about the question of how to spray raspberries against pests, we can recommend the effective drug Fufanon. As practice shows, in most cases, only one treatment with this product is required to get rid of pests.

Effective methods always help

In fact, there are plenty of ways to overcome the beetle. Let's talk about the simplest methods.

For example, potassium permanganate is suitable. It is necessary to spray raspberry bushes at the rate of half a gram of potassium permanganate per small bucket of water.

Experienced gardeners say that it helps when planting several beds of garlic and onions directly next to the raspberries. These plants can not only repel raspberry worms, but also attract beneficial insects. Which include hoverflies and ground beetles.

If you pay attention to ready-made products that are sold in specialized stores, you can purchase Fitoverm or Furfanon. Just remember that these drugs will cope with the problem for only three weeks

Then you will have to re-process

Just remember that these drugs will cope with the problem for only three weeks. Then you will need to do the processing again.

You need to start doing all this in May. In the end. And, when the buds are already forming, then spread bedding under the bushes on the ground.

And early in the morning, when it is still cool and the beetles are not active, simply shake them off the bushes. Then, of course, the worms must be destroyed.

It is necessary to loosen the soil under the bushes. It is best to do this either in early spring or late autumn. Note that the raspberry beetle directly harms the berries. But he doesn’t do anything bad to the bushes.

Description and methods of exterminating pests on raspberries

Neglect of preventive measures often causes raspberry bushes to be damaged by a number of dangerous insects.

To get rid of parasitic pests in the shortest possible time, you need to arm yourself not only with potent drugs, but also with knowledge about the insects themselves and the symptoms of plant damage.

Stem gall midge

The appearance of gall midges on the bushes is indicated by small swellings in the middle and lower parts of the stems. Tiny flies (up to 2 mm long) massively colonize raspberries and spend the first half of the growing season as larvae. Orange larvae feed on stems and pupate during the budding phase of plants.

How dangerous is the gall midge? Adult flies can damage up to 2/3 of the shoots. To minimize damage from the pest, stems with swellings must be trimmed during the season. Damaged stems are not restored.

To prevent the gall midge from causing the complete loss of raspberry bushes, it is necessary to spray with chemicals in time:

Nutcracker

The larvae of this pest also target young raspberry shoots: insects create larger settlements on the stems (damaged areas reach a length of up to 10 cm), which leads to cracking and brittleness of the shoots.

To combat the gallworm, insecticides are used such as:

Shoot aphid

Small, light green adult insects attack the upper part of the raspberry bush, causing deformation of the leaves. A large population of aphids over a season can completely destroy a plant. Due to aphid colonies, the formed raspberry flower buds fall off.

The market for chemical insecticides offers a wide selection of drugs against aphids, the best of which are recognized as:

If aphids were noticed during the fruiting period, it would be safer to use a folk remedy. Most recipes for solutions for spraying raspberry bushes against shoot aphids include ash and soap. We suggest using the following recipe: pour 400 g of ash into 6 liters of boiling water, add 50 ml liquid soap and leave for 24 hours.

Weevil

Appears on plants when the thermometer exceeds +8 o C. The weevil attacks strawberry beds and raspberry bushes, eating young leaves and gnawing peduncles. With massive accumulations of this small gray beetle, the gardener faces complete loss of the harvest.

You can scare the weevil away from its favorite “delicacies” using garlic infusion:

1. 100g of crushed feathers, arrows or cloves are poured into 10l of water.
2. The aromatic tincture will be ready in two hours.

To exterminate insects, use the biological preparation “Fitoverm” or an alternative mustard solution: pour 100 g of dry mustard powder into 5 liters of water. Raspberries are sprayed against weevils during the budding phase.

About the peculiarities of the development of the raspberry beetle on plants and methods of combating this malicious pest

When picking tender and juicy raspberries, each of you probably had to remove them from the fruit stalk and discover yellowish raspberry beetle larvae (1.5-7 mm in size and with a dark-colored head) in the fruits and carelessly throw them aside.

Damage to the raspberry crop from the beetle and its larvae ranges from 10 to 50%, depending on growing season conditions. The grayish-black body of the imago (elongated oval shape, 3.5-4.5 mm in size) is abundantly covered with rusty-yellow or gray hairs, which is why its color appears grayish-golden. The emergence of beetles from wintering to the soil surface occurs at the end of April - the first half of May at a temperature of the upper layer of 12...13°C. As a rule, this moment coincides with the flowering period of fruit trees and bird cherry.

To achieve the ability to reproduce, the beetles additionally (up to two weeks) feed on nectar and anthers of various cultivated flowers (currant, gooseberry, and somewhat later apple, cherry) and early flowering weeds, and then fly to raspberry plantings (flight distance reaches up to 120 m) . In some years, the colonization of raspberries by beetles begins early, even before the buds appear. Then, for additional nutrition, the beetles feed on young raspberry leaves, plucking out the pulp of the tissue and gnawing out narrow oblong holes between the veins.

With the appearance of buds and flowers, the imago feeds on them, biting into the buds or eating the nectaries (to a lesser extent other parts) of the flowers. As experts note, when feeding on the pollen of additional food plants, the maturation of reproductive products in females accelerates almost twice as much as beetles that constantly feed on raspberry leaves and buds.

The maximum number of damaged berries is observed during the harvest period; such fruits not only lose their nutritional quality, but also reduce the yield. The larvae live in raspberries for up to one and a half months, capturing the period of fruit ripening, as a result of which they are often found in the harvested berries. During the ripening period of the berries, the larvae leave them and burrow into the soil, where they pupate in cradles at a depth of 5-20 cm, later turning into overwintering immature beetles. If beetles emerge from the pupae during the wintering period, they usually die with the onset of frost. Some of the larvae that completed their development late and matured fall into a state of long-term diapause, as a result of which such larvae overwinter and pupate.

The new generation of beetles appears only in August of the following year, i.e. in a year. Let us recall that diapause is a specific state of an insect when, when unfavorable soil and climatic conditions occur for its further life activity, its biological processes are reduced to a minimum, and mechanisms of resistance to these negative environmental factors are activated in the body. The number of diapausing larvae varies from year to year within 10-82% of the total number of overwintering individuals: the later the larvae hatch and feed, the more of them remain for the winter. The depth and location of the larvae depend mainly on the structure of the soil and its moisture. It turns out that under certain soil and climatic conditions, the raspberry beetle can have a two-year development period.

Of the agrotechnical measures that significantly reduce the number of wintering beetles and larvae, the most common practice is digging up the soil under bushes. During raspberry budding, some of the owners of their garden plots use open umbrellas or containers with wide necks (for example, saucepans) to collect and destroy beetles, where they are shaken off. It is better to carry out this procedure in the morning, when the beetles are least mobile and do not “take wing”, flying from bush to bush: more than half of the insects can be caught using this method. Damaged berries with larvae should be systematically removed and destroyed, and not simply thrown aside, since larvae falling on the ground often leads to their pupation (especially if they are older and have managed to feed on the fruits).

Chemical treatment against the raspberry beetle can be directed simultaneously against the raspberry-strawberry weevil, flower beetle weevil, leaf rollers, aphids and other associated raspberry pests that colonize this crop during the period of bud formation. Among the insecticides used (per 10 liters of water) are fufanon, kemifos, Iskra M (10 ml), Iskra (1 table), as well as actellik (15 ml). Preparations of the first group are used at the rate of up to 2 liters per 10 bushes, and actellik - 1.5 liters per 10 m2, maintaining the recommended waiting period before picking berries.

Alexander Lazarev, Candidate of Biological Sciences, senior researcher at the All-Russian Institute of Natural Resources, Pushkin

Raspberry diseases

Raspberry diseases are no less dangerous than pests. Often it is the painful condition of the bush that causes the appearance of insects. In order to avoid complete destruction of the crop, you need to know about the most common raspberry diseases.

Verticillium wilt

The disease is difficult to identify due to the diversity of symptoms. The main reason for the appearance is damage to the root system. This can be caused either by the larvae of dangerous pests or by the careless care of the gardener himself.

The first sign of the disease is that the leaves curl and lose color. It is easy to confuse this with overwatering plants. Verticillium wilt is caused by a fungus. Treatment should be immediate, as the fungus is transmitted to healthy shrubs.

Didimella or purple spot

The disease is popular in areas where it rains frequently or where dampness accumulates. A plant can also get sick in a protected greenhouse or greenhouse. It spreads quickly, but the disease is easy to detect. The first sign is that dark spots appear on the leaves, followed by dark spots on the stems.

Peak activity occurs in July. The disease first affects older leaves, and then spreads to young ones. If treatment is not started, then within a few months the disease will affect other crops.

Anthracnose

A dangerous fungus that spreads quickly due to wind and insects. If the disease was noticed on other crops, treatment and prevention will have to be carried out for all plants. The first sign of the disease can be detected visually; the appearance of small holes on the leaves indicates the presence of fungus.

When working with chemicals to treat plants, the gardener must wear a respirator, since if the chemicals get into the lungs there is a possibility of developing an allergic reaction. Plants at risk include:

• cucumbers;
• grape;
• raspberries;
• potato;
• melon.

Ulcerative spotting

Not only raspberry bushes, but also roses are at risk. Therefore, if an affected crop grows on the territory, the disease will be transmitted along the chain. In this case, the gardener must take a number of preventive measures in order to stop the disease.

Canker spotting is expressed by the appearance of gray spots on the stems of young plants. Over time, they become harder, which leads to infection of the entire stem and death of the plant. The only correct decision at the first stage of the development of the disease is to remove the affected parts and burn them.

When working with an affected plant, you must wear gloves.

Rust crimson

Crimson rust is one of the most common diseases that covers all areas. The disease cannot be ignored, since the affected bush will no longer be able to produce a harvest. The gardener will have to dig it up and burn it. Moreover, the disease is transmitted to other cultures.

It is not difficult to identify the disease; the first signs are noticeable on young leaves. They acquire an uncharacteristic yellow tint. The yield and size of berries decreases due to the fact that the plant tries to restore leaves.

Root rot (or late blight)

Root rot is a nasty disease that is difficult to identify because the symptoms are similar to a number of other diseases. Reason for appearance:

• Damage to roots when removing pests.
• Poor watering and oversaturation of the soil.

The main disadvantage of the disease is that it destroys the plant in a short time if it is not treated. It can only be detected through a visual inspection of the soil. If the bush is located in a hole or depression where rain moisture collects, watering should be limited and the soil should be allowed to dry out.

The first symptoms indicating the presence of the disease are sticky and wet stems. Root rot is a fungal disease that can be transmitted to other crops.

Gray mold (or botrytis)

A fungal disease that is transmitted through spores from a diseased plant is gray rot. If there is at least one diseased plant on the site, it must be treated immediately. The disease is transmitted quickly and often occurs on chrysanthemum and rose flowers. Therefore, if a raspberry tree grows nearby, it should be secured in advance.

The main difference from other diseases is the presence of small gray spots on young leaves. Often occurs during the rainy season. Getting rid of mold is possible only if agrotechnical measures are followed.

Root cancer (or goiter)

An infectious disease that annually affects various varieties of raspberries. It is easy to identify the disease; just pay attention to the root part of the plant. The growth appears closer to the stem; in the early stages it has a small shape about the size of a sawn egg.

The plant must be treated immediately, since cancer is easily transmitted through the gardener’s tools and unwashed hands. If left untreated, the bush will completely die by the end of the season.

Raspberry Curl

Raspberry curl is a dangerous viral disease, which is expressed in wrinkling and curling of the leaves; over time, their edges turn yellow, become dry and brittle.

If you do not treat the plant, by July the gardener must dig up an entire raspberry bush and burn it. The disease is easily transmitted to neighboring families, so if you value your harvest, it is better to treat it in the early stages.

Often the disease appears on plants that do not receive proper care. This may be due to a poor location for the raspberry plant, or a lack of watering and fertilizing the soil.

Raspberry growth

Raspberry growth is popularly known as “witch’s broom.” It is not difficult to identify the disease; more than 200 shoots appear on one young raspberry bush. The root system is not able to withstand such a load and provide young shoots with all the necessary substances.

Even if the bush survives a lack of nutrition, the harvest will be low and frail. However, bushes affected by this disease can live up to 10 years. Therefore, several important nuances can be highlighted:

• A seemingly healthy green bush will produce a minimal amount of harvest, which will lead to labor inefficiency.
• If you remove a diseased plant and do not treat the soil, the new plant will certainly inherit the disease.

Folk remedies and caring for raspberries

Proper and timely care of raspberries will prevent larvae from laying in the stems and will prevent larvae from developing in the soil. What is raspberry care?

1. As soon as the first shoots begin to appear, inspect the raspberry tree once a week. When you see wilted young shoots, you must immediately cut them out and be sure to burn them. Cut the stem at ground level and even a little deeper into the ground;
2. To repel flies, the bushes are irrigated with a solution of baking soda (2 tablespoons per bucket of water) and irrigated before the berries begin to set. For this purpose, someone sprays the bushes with mustard solution, which also helps;
3. To prevent the raspberry fly from laying eggs, it is necessary that the larvae do not hatch into adults in the spring. For this purpose, mulching is carried out with a layer of at least 8 cm. Plant residues, peat, and sawdust are used as mulch;
4. Remove old branches and young weak growth in a timely manner. They take on useful substances, the return from them will be minimal. The remaining young stems will take up more nutrients, grow stronger faster and cope better with pests and diseases. In addition, thickened raspberries are an ideal environment for flies;
5. Treat raspberries in advance with biological preparations, they are harmless and effective, act on other pests, but are safe for bees;
6. In the fall, after harvesting, collect fallen leaves, loosen the soil under the bushes; in loose soil, the pupae will freeze faster in winter. Loosen the soil carefully so as not to damage the root system. You can treat the soil with some insecticide.

Don’t forget to feed the bushes in the spring, then in the summer they will delight you with a bountiful harvest of sweet berries.