Houseplants need your help. Indoor plants: identifying problems by leaves Someone is eating at the flower

O. KASHTANOVA, entomologist of the State Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

It is well known that flowers improve the microclimate, create a certain comfort and unique atmosphere. For many, the cultivation of ornamental plants has become one of the types of creative recreation that delivers aesthetic pleasure. However, plants are only pleasing if they are healthy and well developed. Unfortunately, along with indoor flowers on the windowsills, many insect pests find their place. Plants, especially weakened by improper care, become their tasty food. And pests breed in the autumn-winter time with the dry, warm air of our apartments at an unheard of speed.

Large, showy flowers of miltonia (plants from the orchid family) resemble pansies. Flowers that are provided with the necessary care do not get sick and delight with their flowering in rooms from August to November.

False shields on a palm leaf.

Scale insects on a palm leaf.

It looks like a whitish cotton-like coating of a mealybug.

Whiteflies that settled on the underside of the leaf.

Springtails close-up.

Balsam, ruined by a spider mite.

A cactus affected by a root scale insect.

Entomologists divide all pests into two groups: gnawing and sucking. Gnawing eat flowers, leaves. Sucking feed on their cell sap, without violating the integrity of the tissues.

Most houseplants are plagued by sucking pests. It is very difficult to notice these pests in time. They are so small that they can sometimes only be seen under a microscope. Obvious symptoms of plant damage are detected only when the pests have already caused damage, have managed to multiply and move on to other flowers.

Unpleasant surprises

What are the reasons for the appearance and spread of pests in indoor conditions? Often they are brought along with plants. When purchasing your favorite flowers, you must carefully check whether they are a source of infection.

You can bring pests with cut flowers. Beautiful bouquets and compositions sometimes hide such unpleasant "surprises" as aphids, thrips, whiteflies, spider mites.

In spring and summer, indoor flowers are taken out to balconies, in loggias, and taken to summer cottages. There they may well become infected, and in the fall, pests, along with flowers, “move” to “winter apartments”.

Soil taken from open ground can also be a source of infection. It sometimes contains resting stages of insects (pupa), earthworms, and nematodes.

In the spring, seedlings purchased for the summer season can also pose a threat. Since the bulk of pests reproduce at an incredible rate, even a few insects not noticed in time pose a real threat to all your plants.

Who is who

The most common pests of flower and ornamental plants are aphids, whiteflies, thrips, scale insects, scale insects, false scale insects, spider mites, and podura. All of them in room conditions can breed all year round.

Aphids are small insects (1-5 mm) of green, light yellow and black colors. They suck the juice from the tops of the shoots, petioles, young leaves, flowers. The affected parts of the plants become sticky, sometimes deformed, the tops of the shoots and flowers wither.

In the rooms there are peach, room and nymph aphids. They affect a wide range of plants, preferring tender, non-leathery leaves. Usually aphids accumulate on young apical shoots and peduncles. On the sticky, sweet secretions of aphids ("honey" dew), a sooty fungus settles. But it can be found on indoor flowers and when plants are damaged by a whitefly, more often a greenhouse.

The whitefly is a small insect (1-2 mm) resembling a butterfly with milky white wings. By sucking the juice from plant tissues, the pest greatly weakens them.

Butterflies can be seen from the back of the leaves; when the plants are shaken, they quickly scatter. Of all indoor flowers, whiteflies prefer pomegranate, myrtle, pelargonium, fuchsia, aphelandra, poinsettia.

Another pest of indoor flowers is thrips, very small, extremely mobile insects (1-1.5 mm), from light yellow to black in color. They live on the underside of leaves and are barely visible to the naked eye. True signs that the plant is inhabited by thrips are the appearance on the upper side of the leaves of numerous light dots and strokes, and on the lower side - transparent "mica windows" filled with black dots of excrement. Both adults and larvae are harmful. In addition to leaves, they damage buds and flowers. Plants quickly weaken and completely lose their decorative effect.

Danger for indoor plants are scutes, false scales and worms.

The fight against scale insects and false scale insects is very difficult; as a rule, their appearance is detected only then; when the larvae are already sitting "safe" under the shields. Young larvae, quite mobile, cannot be seen with the naked eye. The scutes of the scale insects themselves are light gray, yellowish-white, they are rather flat in shape, while in the false scale insects they are brownish, more often semicircular. Female worms, unlike scale insects and false scale insects, are covered with a white powdery coating.

Scale insects and false scale insects settle on stems, twigs, leaves, usually on the reverse side along the conductive veins. With mass reproduction, pests sit closely on the plant. The worms often hide in the axils of the leaves. As a result of damage by these pests, leaves, fruits fall off, plants gradually dry out, and a soot fungus settles on sugary secretions. The range of plants affected by them is very wide - these are cactus, citrus, oleander, palm trees, ficuses, ivy, orchids, ferns. There are worms that damage the roots - root bugs. They often suffer from cacti, bromeliads. Colonies of such mealybugs are clearly visible on the roots, if you carefully knock out a dry lump of soil from the pot.

In the upper soil layer, when watering indoor flowers, you can sometimes see small (1-2 mm) jumping, wingless arachnids of white color. These are podura, or springtails, most often they appear when the soil is excessively moist. White podura damages germinated seeds, seedlings, small roots, lower parts of stems. Getting rid of it is quite simple - you need to sprinkle the surface of the soil in a pot with sand and reduce the watering of the plants.

A serious threat to houseplants is posed by spider mites - very small arachnids (up to 0.5 mm) that multiply rapidly, especially at high air temperatures and low humidity. They live, as a rule, on the underside of the leaves, feed on the cell sap of plants, causing metabolic disorders, exhaustion and a decrease in assimilation. With a strong defeat by these pests, discoloration (a symptom of marbling), browning and drying of the leaves are observed, which quickly fall off, and the whole plant is entwined with an abundant thin cobweb. Many plants are affected by spider mites: ficuses, cordelins, crotons, jasmine, anthuriums, arrowroot, akalifa, citrus fruits. Common spider mites, Atlantic spider mites, and red citrus mites are most common in rooms.

In addition to the listed pests, indoor plants can be damaged by slugs, wood lice and some insects that, as a rule, fall from the open ground: weevils, cutworms, mining flies.

How to protect indoor flowers from pests

First of all, with the help of preventive, preventive measures, such as: careful examination of existing and newly acquired plants, isolation of damaged flowers from healthy ones, disinfection of dishes and soil, that is, its freezing or heating. Regular, timely watering, adherence to a rational diet and lighting significantly increase the resistance of flower and ornamental plants to pests.

But even the best care does not guarantee unconditional protection of indoor flowers from pests. If there are few pests on the plants, collect them all by hand or wash them off with a strong stream of warm water from the shower. Just don't forget about the back side of the leaves. To prevent the flower from falling out of the pot, place it in a plastic bag and tie it tightly. Pouring water against spider mites is quite effective. If you repeat this procedure two or three times a week, the number of ticks will decrease dramatically. Aphids, scale insects, false scale insects and mealybugs try to clean off with a toothbrush or a hard brush dipped in soapy water (one part laundry soap to six parts water). If other sucking pests are found, thoroughly wash the plants with ethyl alcohol or denatured alcohol, but with a soft brush. To avoid burns, rinse the flowers thoroughly in the shower 3-5 minutes after such treatment.

Herbal preparations with insecticidal and acaricidal effects are widely used at home. Against aphids, thrips, mites, scale insects, false scale insects, infusions of garlic, onion, red hot pepper, and tobacco dust are used.

You can't expect miracles from home remedies, but it's worth a try.

Once again, I would like to remind you that pest control in indoor conditions requires a lot of patience. One-time processing or manual collection is usually not enough. You have to repeat them at intervals of 5-10 days.

Treating diseased plants with chemicals indoors is not recommended as there is not a single pesticide approved for home use and if you are even a little concerned about your health, you should not use them indoors. And only with a large number of spider mites, aphids, thrips, try using fitoverm (see "Science and Life" No. 7, 1998).

In industrial conditions, chemical, biological and biotechnical methods are used to reduce the number of pests. The choice of chemicals is quite extensive, the spectrum of their action - from selective to wide. So, Actellik, Pegasus, Rogor are successfully used to combat sucking pests. New generation drugs are effective - pyrethroids, such as cypermethrin, talstar, arrivo, fury. Of the biological methods, microbiological preparations (bacterial, fungal) are used: mycoafidin (from aphids), verticillin (from whiteflies). A special group is represented by bioagents, that is, the insects themselves and mites that destroy pests. Encarsia is successfully used against the whitefly, lacewing, aphidius, lysiflebus are used against aphids; scale insects, false scale insects and mealybugs infect cryptolemus, encirtus, and spider mites and thrips - predatory mites phytoseiulus and amblyseius. To reduce the number of pests in flower farms, biotechnical means - glue traps - are successfully used.

WHY PLANTS ARE SICK

Oddly enough, but indoor flowers sometimes get sick, not because they have been forgotten, but because they are treated too well:

Watered, but too often, and with cold and hard unboiled water, leaving drops of water on the leaves when watering.

They remove wilted leaves and flowers, but often pick them off by hand rather than cut them off with a clean, sharp knife or razor. And, of course, cuts are not sprinkled with crushed charcoal.

Transplanted, but often in cramped dishes.

They are fed regularly, but "by eye", moreover, with fertilizers without trace elements, and both an excess and a lack of nutrients are equally harmful for flowers.

Keep all year round at the same room temperature, meanwhile, many plants need a dormant period. At this time, indoor flowers should stand in a cool place and receive very little water.

When admiring your green pets, pay attention to the reverse side of the leaves, where pests most often settle.

RECIPES FOR HOME REMEDIES

20 g of dry onion husks are poured into 1 liter of water (preferably warm) and infused for 12-15 hours, filtered and sprayed on the plants three times, with an interval of 5 days.

One teaspoon of onion gruel is infused for a day in one glass of water. Filter and twice, with an interval of 3-5 days, spray the plants.

70 g of crushed garlic pour 1 liter of boiling water and cover tightly. After 6 hours, filter and use to treat plants.

100 g of crushed raw or 50 g of dry fruits of hot peppers are boiled in 1 liter of water for 1 hour in a closed enameled bowl. For two days they insist, wipe, wring out and filter. The resulting concentrate is diluted with seven times the amount of water.

40 g of tobacco waste are infused for two days in 1 liter of water, then boiled for 2 hours, filtered and diluted with 1 liter of water.

Soap solution is added to the prepared infusions for better stickiness. Laundry soap is diluted in a small amount of water and poured immediately before use at the rate of 3-4 g per 1 liter of infusion.

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl Mycelium infects the roots, penetrates into the root neck and stems. With this disease of garden flowers, the influx of nutrients stops, the plants turn yellow, turn brown and dry up the shoots with leaves, the roots rot. On sections with an abundance of moisture, a dense grayish-white mycelium appears.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants. To treat this flower disease, you need to water the soil with drugs: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B.

Phyllostictosis. The causative agent is a fungus Phyllosticta aquilegicola Brun.- causes the appearance on the leaves of large, irregularly shaped, blurry light brown spots without obvious bordering. By autumn, from above, in the necrotic tissue, small black dotted fruiting bodies are formed.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying in spring and autumn with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Powdery mildew. The causative agent is the fungus Erysiphe communis Grev. f. aquilegiae West. A white mealy coating of sporulation develops on the upper side of young leaves. Over time, it turns brown, and dotted black fruiting bodies form in it. The leaves turn yellow and dry up.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with preparations: fast, pure flower, guardian, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Diseases and pests of the asparagus flower: photos and preparations for processing

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In industrial cultivation, treatments are carried out with drugs: benomyl, benazol, benorad.

Gray rot. The causative agent is a fungus Botrytis cinerea Pers. On the leaves and young shoots appear large brown merging spots without edging. In hot weather, the tissues of the spots crack and fall out, in the presence of moisture, the spots quickly increase, become covered with a smoky-gray bloom of sporulation, the leaves and stems rot.

Control measures.

Twelve-point asparagus ratchet Crioceris duodecimpunctata L.. A small beetle 5-6.5 mm long, with 6 black spots on reddish-yellow elytra. Antennae, legs, abdomen are black.

As you can see in the photo, the larvae of this flower pest are dark yellow, 6-7 mm long, with dark legs and a light head:

Adults hibernate under the leaves, in June they fly to asparagus and lay eggs. Beetle pests of flowers in the garden skeletonize, eat leaves and stems, larvae gnaw leaves and fruits, 2 generations develop.

Control measures. Removing leaves in autumn. And how can you water the flowers from these pests? Effective drugs: Fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

How to treat astilba flower diseases

Fusarium rot. Pathogen - fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl. - stored in the soil, in plant residues.

Control measures. Use of quality planting material,

Gray rot. The causative agent is a fungus Botrytis cinerea Pers. With this disease, large brown merging spots without bordering appear on the leaves of flowers and young shoots. In hot weather, the tissues of the spots crack and fall out, in the presence of moisture, the spots quickly increase, become covered with a smoky-gray bloom of sporulation, the leaves and stems rot. The spread of the disease is facilitated by an abundance of precipitation, sharp fluctuations in daily temperatures, and dense plantings. The infection persists in plant debris.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, thinning of plants. Effective remedies for this disease of flowers are preparations: fast, pure flower, keeper, agro-doctor.

Phyllostic spotting. The causative agent is a fungus Phyllosticta vulgaris Desm.- causes the appearance of rounded large olive-colored spots on the leaves. Over time, the spots lighten, and a thin dark border becomes noticeable. Dark pycnidia form on the upper side. Affected leaves turn yellow and dry prematurely. The infection persists in plant debris.

Control measures.

Badan flower diseases: photo and treatment

Gray rot. Pathogen - mushroom Botrytis cinerea Pers.

Control measures. Collection of fallen leaves, thinning of plants, compliance with the requirements of agricultural cultivation, spraying with one of the preparations: fast, pure flower, keeper, agro-doctor.

Ramulariasis. The causative agent is a fungus Ramularia bergeniae Vasjag. - causes spots on both sides of the leaves and on the petioles. The spots are numerous, small, rounded, light brown with a sharply defined dark border, red-brown on the underside with a light center. On the petioles - red-brown, elongated, depressed. Over time, they merge into large necrosis and cause premature drying of the leaves.

Control measures.

Alternariosis. The causative agent is a fungus Alternaria tenuis Nees. - causes the appearance of reddish-crimson spots along the edges of old overwintered leaves without bordering. The spots grow, turn brown, dry up, a dense, dark brown coating of fungus sporulation develops on the underside, the spores of which infect neighboring leaves. The infection persists in leaves and plant debris.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, preventive spraying in spring and autumn with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

You can see how the treatment of these flower diseases is carried out in the photo below:

How to spray geranium flowers from diseases and pests

Powdery mildew of geranium. Pathogens - mushrooms Sphaerotheca macularis Magn. f. gerani Poteb. and Erysiphe communis Grev. f. geraniacearum Roum. The first fungus forms a dense white graying coating on leaves and petioles, in which brown fruiting bodies are formed. The second one has a white coating, cobwebbed, quickly disappearing, the fruiting bodies are dark brown. Affected leaves dry out.

Control measures. Spraying from spring with preparations: fast, rayok, keeper, pure flower, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Rust. The causative agent is a fungus Puccinia pelargoniizonalis Dge. In summer, numerous small rounded yellowish spots appear on the upper side of the leaves, which turn brown over time. Brown, darkening pustules form on the underside of the spots. Affected leaves dry up.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying from spring with a Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Pennitsa slobbering Philaenus spumarius L.. Large sucking insect up to 10 mm long, yellow-brown to black. Can fly and jump. The larvae of this pest of garden flowers are greenish-yellow with red eyes, feed on leaves and shoots in a saliva-like foam. The eggs hibernate in the tissues of the buds and young stems. In the spring, the larvae emerge and feed on tissue sap. Damaged leaves are deformed and dry out.

Control measures. Collection and destruction of larvae. And how can flowers be treated from these pests? Spraying with preparations is effective against penny: fufanon, spark, kinmiks, biotlin. Intya-Vip.

How to treat elecampane flower diseases

Powdery mildew. The causative agent is a fungus Erysiphe cichoracearum DC. f. inulae Jacz. causes the spread on the leaves of a grayish-white cobweb, quickly disappearing sporulation plaque. Over time, dark brown, dotted fruiting bodies form in it. The leaves turn yellow and dry up.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with preparations from spring: soon, rayok, keeper, pure flower, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Rust. The causative agent is a fungus Puccinia inulaecaricis Tranz.- diversified. It constantly develops on sedge, and in summer it develops on elecampane, on the leaves of which numerous orange convex pustules form on the underside. Leaves turn brown and dry.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, preventive spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Ramulariasis. The causative agent is a fungus Ramularia inulae (Sacc.) v. Hoehn.- spots are grayish-brown or brown, numerous, of various shapes, sometimes merging. On the underside, a white or reddish coating of sporulation develops. Leaves dry up.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, preventive spraying in spring and autumn with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

How to deal with delphinium flower diseases

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl.- stored in the soil, in plant residues.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Black bacterial spot. The causative agent is a bacterium Pseudomonas delphinii Stapp. - causes the appearance on the leaves of numerous rounded spots of black-brown color with a convex surface and concentric zoning. Over time, the spots merge, crack and fall out. The spots on the stems are depressed, brown, elongated. The affected stem turns brown, rots and breaks.

Control measures. Use of high-quality planting material, culling of diseased plants, spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Septoria delphinium. The causative agent is a fungus Septoria delphinella Sacc. - causes the appearance of rounded dark olive spots on the leaves. Over time, the center of the spots brightens, but a thin dark border remains. Affected leaves turn yellow and dry out.

Control measures. Use of high-quality planting material, culling of diseased plants, spraying in spring and autumn with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Protection of the iris flower from diseases

Fusarium rot. Pathogens - mushrooms Fusarium oxysporum Schl., F. culmorum (W.G.Sm.) Sacc.- remain in the soil, in plant residues. Mycelium infects the roots, penetrates through the vascular system into the root neck and stems. The influx of nutrients stops, in plants the shoots with leaves turn yellow, turn brown and dry, the roots rot.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Soft bacterial rot. The causative agent is a bacterium In spring, yellow-brown soft necrosis is observed on the rhizomes and leaves. When growing, the leaves turn brown, rot from the base and fall to the ground like fans. With an abundance of precipitation, the rhizomes rot, the tissues soften, turning into a rotten mass with a pungent odor.

Control measures. Using healthy planting material, collecting plant debris, stripping rhizomes to healthy tissue and cauterization with a black solution of potassium permanganate.

Heterosporiasis. The causative agent is a fungus Heterosporium glacile Sacc. - causes the appearance on the leaves of numerous oblong spots of a grayish-brown color with a dark border. The leaves turn brown and dry, olive-black sporulation of the fungus develops on the surface of the spots.

Control measures. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

How to get rid of diseases and pests of the carnation flower

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is the fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl. f. dianthi (Prill, et Del.) Bilai. The roots and stems turn brown and rot, the plant loses turgor, fades and turns yellow. The leaves acquire a reddish-brown hue, a grayish-pink sporulation of the fungus develops on sections of the stems and roots. The infection persists in plant debris.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil in spring with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Gray rot. Pathogen - mushroom Botrytis cinerea Pers.

Control measures. Collection of fallen leaves, thinning of plants, compliance with the requirements of agricultural cultivation, spraying with one of the preparations: fast, pure flower, keeper, agro-doctor.

Ascochitosis. The causative agent is a fungus Ascochyta dianthi Berk.- causes the appearance on the leaves of numerous rounded grayish-brown spots, merging and drying out. Over time, dotted brown fruiting bodies of the overwintering stage of the fungus form on the surface. The infection persists in plant debris.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, preventive spraying from spring with a Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Alternariosis. The causative agent is a fungus Alternaria dianthi Stev. et Hall. On leaves and stems, rounded and elongated spots of brown or ashy color appear without bordering. Leaf blades curl and dry out, ulceration and deformation appear on the stems. A dense, olive-black coating of sporulation develops on the affected tissues.

Control measures. The same as against ascochitosis.

Rust. Pathogens - mushrooms Uromym caryophyllinus (Schrank) Wint. and Puccinia arenariae (Schum.) Wint. The first fungus causes the formation on both sides of the leaf of small, round, powdery brown uredopustules and round, merging powdery brown-black telitopustules. The second fungus forms mainly telitopustules on the underside. They are numerous, rounded, merging, dark brown, non-powdery. In this case, yellow-brown drying spots appear on the upper side of the leaves, surrounded by a chlorotic halo. The infection persists in plant debris.

Control measures. It is necessary to treat this flower disease in the same way as ascochitosis.

Orthosia stabilis Schiff. Brownish-red butterfly with a wingspan of 35 mm. The caterpillars of these flower leaf pests are green, with five yellowish longitudinal lines on the back and small yellow dots. The penultimate ring has a transverse yellow stripe. Pupae hibernate, butterflies fly in April, caterpillars feed from the end of May - in June, roughly gnawing the leaves of trees and shrubs.

Control measures. To combat these pests of flowers, spring spraying is carried out with preparations: kinmiks, fufanon, spark, Inta-Vir.

How to water a daylily flower from pests and diseases

Snow mold. Pathogens - mushrooms Fusarium oxysporum Schl., Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) d. By., Botrytis cinerea Pers., Alternaria tenuis Nees., preserved in the soil on plant residues. In the spring, after the snow melts, the overwintered leaves are covered with a grayish-white dense coating of mycelium. Over time, the mycelium dries up, but the infection persists, and rot may appear in summer.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In industrial cultivation, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Heterosporiasis. The causative agent is a fungus Heterosporium glacile Sacc.- causes the appearance on the leaves of oblong spots of a grayish-brown color with a dark border. The leaves dry up, olive-black sporulation of the fungus develops on the surface of the spots.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with copper-containing preparations.

Tobacco thrips Thrips tabaci Lind. Very small sucking yellow-brown insect, 1-5 mm long, wings fringed with long hairs. These insect pests of flowers hibernate in the soil, come to the surface in early April, thrips and larvae feed on the juice of leaf and petal tissues. Damaged tissues turn yellow, dry out, buds do not bloom. 3-4 generations develop.

Control measures. For the treatment of flowers from these pests, drugs are used: Fufanon, Spark, Fitoverm, Aktara, Biotlin, Inta-Vir.

The fight against diseases and pests of the lupine flower

Powdery mildew. The causative agent is the fungus Erysiphe communis Qrev. f-lupini Room. - causes the appearance on leaves, petioles, peduncles of a cobweb grayish-white coating of sporulation. Over time, dark dotted fruiting bodies form in it. The leaves dry up, the flower stalks are deformed.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with preparations from spring: soon, rayok, pure flower, keeper, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Septoria. The causative agent is the fungus Septoria lupini Kazn. - causes the appearance on the leaves of single rounded spots, up to 10 mm in diameter, at first dark brown, eventually pale yellow, surrounded by a bright dark brown border. Numerous punctate black fruiting bodies are formed in the necrotic tissue.

Control measures. Collection and burning of plant residues, spraying with copper-containing preparations.

Bed bug Lygus rugulipennis Popp. Sucking insect 5-5.5 mm long, greenish-gray, rusty-yellow. The base of the front wings of these flower leaf pests is leathery, the top is membranous, the hind wings are membranous. Adult bugs overwinter under plant debris; in spring, females lay their eggs on petioles and leaves. The larvae are similar to adult bugs, but smaller.

Control measures. Effective remedies for these pests of flowers are: fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

Insect pests and leaf diseases of the mallow flower

Gray rot. The causative agent is a fungus Botrytis cinerea Pers. Large brown merging spots appear on leaves and shoots without bordering. The tissues of the spots crack and fall out, in the presence of moisture they become covered with a smoky-gray coating of sporulation.

Control measures. Collection of fallen leaves, compliance with the requirements of agricultural cultivation, spraying with one of the preparations: fast, pure flower, keeper, agro-doctor.

Rust. The causative agent is a fungus Puccinia malvacearum Mont. Teleitopustules form on the underside of the leaves and on the petioles. At first they are brownish-brown, later ash-gray, dense, rounded, breaking through the epidermis. Affected leaves dry out quickly.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

red bug Pyrrhocoris apterus L. Large sucking insect 9-11 mm long and brightly colored. The body, ventral rim are red, the head, antennae, legs, spots on the elytra are black. Bed bugs overwinter in the crevices of the bark of trunks and stumps. In the spring they come to the surface and form large clusters. Females lay eggs in May. The larvae feed until autumn on the leaves of trees and shrubs and herbaceous plants. In autumn they descend and hibernate.

Control measures. To protect flowers from these pests, spraying is carried out in the spring with one of the preparations: Fufanon, Kinmiks, Spark M, Inta-Vir.

How to deal with diseases and pests of the nivyanik flower

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum gchl.- stored in the soil, in plant residues. Mycelium infects the roots, penetrates through the vascular system into the root neck and stems. The influx of nutrients stops, in plants the shoots with leaves turn yellow, turn brown and dry, the roots rot. On sections of parts with an abundance of moisture, a dense grayish-white mycelium appears.

Control measures. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Soft bacterial rot. The causative agent is a bacterium Erwinia carotovora (Jones.) Holl. In plants, stems with leaves turn yellow and rot from the base. Affected tissues soften and acquire an unpleasant smell of rot. Mucous exudate appears in the humid chamber. The infection persists in plant debris and in infected plants.

Control measures. Removal of plant residues, rotten plants, spilling a red solution of potassium permanganate.

Septoria spotting. The causative agent is a fungus Septoria leucanthemi Sacc. et Speg. The spots on the leaves are depressed, rounded-angular, brown-ocher in color, which darken over time, crack and fall out, leaving a thin brown border.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitute.

Diseases and pests of the comfrey flower: photos and control measures

Gray rot. The causative agent is a fungus Botrytis cinerea Pers. On the leaves and young shoots appear large brown merging spots without edging.

Look at the photo - with this disease of flowers in hot weather, the tissues of the spots crack and fall out:

In the presence of moisture, the spots increase rapidly, become covered with a smoky-gray bloom of sporulation, the leaves and stems rot. The spread of the disease is facilitated by an abundance of precipitation, sharp fluctuations in daily temperatures, and dense plantings.

Control measures. Compliance with the requirements of agricultural cultivation, collection of plant residues, thinning of plants, spraying with one of the preparations: fast, pure flower, keeper, agro-doctor.

Powdery mildew. The causative agent is a fungus Erysiphe communis Grev. f. Symphyti Jacz.- causes the appearance of a grayish-white cobwebbed sporulation on the leaves, in which, over time, dotted fruiting bodies of a dark brown color are formed. Affected leaves turn yellow and dry out.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying at the first symptoms with preparations: fast, rayok, pure flower, keeper, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Click beetles. These are small, medium or large insects from 1 to 60 millimeters long, with an elongated and more or less flattened body.

Control measures. Drainage of low areas, liming of acidic soils, removal of weeds, application of preparations based on diazinon in the spring: barguzin, protox, medvetoks, zemlyan. And what can be sprayed flowers from these pests? Drugs used against beetles: fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

How to treat peony flower diseases

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl. - stored in the soil, in plant residues.

Control measures. The use of high-quality planting material, compliance with all requirements of agricultural cultivation. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

White rot. The causative agent is a fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) d. By. - causes rot of roots, rhizomes and bulbs of plants. Roots turn brown and rot. A dense cotton-like white mycelium develops on the affected tissues, in which dense, irregularly shaped black sclerotia are formed, the inner part of which is light. With an abundance of precipitation, the base of the stems often turns brown and rots, watery brown spots appear on the leaves, the buds do not open and dry out.

Control measures. Same as against Fusarium rot.

Rust. The causative agent is a fungus Cronartium flaccidum (Alb. et Schw.) Wint.- diversified. Its main development takes place on Scotch pine, and in spring spores from it infect peonies. Numerous small brown spots appear on the upper side of the leaves, and orange, gradually turning brown pustules form on the underside of the spots. Affected leaves curl and dry up.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

How to get rid of diseases and pests of the hosta flower

Phyllostictosis. The causative agent is a fungus Phyllosticta aspidistrae Oud. - causes the appearance of rounded-angular spots of light brown color with a darker border. In the necrotic tissue, small brown fruiting bodies of the hibernating stage are formed, the spots dry up, crack and fall out.

Control measures.

Anthracnose. The causative agent is a fungus Colletotrichum omnivorum Halst. Brown merging spots of irregular shape appear on the leaves in the upper part according to the type of marginal necrosis. The leaves gradually dry up and numerous dark sporulation pads form on the surface of the spots.

Control measures. Same as against phyllostictosis.

Garden or grape snail -Helix pomatia. A gastropod mollusk with a spirally twisted shell, up to 5 cm in diameter. There are two pairs of tentacles on the head, the wide lower part represents a leg, with the help of which the snails move and leave a characteristic slimy trace. Develops two generations a year. The females lay their eggs in the soil near the plants. They live in moist shaded places, in thickened plantings, feed on leaves, green shoots, and fruits. Damages all plants.

Control measures. To deal with these flower pests as effectively as possible, you need to collect and destroy single individuals, remove weeds, thin out dense plantings, and drain low areas.

Treatment of chrysanthemum flower diseases

Fusarium rot. The causative agent is a fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schl.- stored in the soil, in plant residues.

Control measures. Use of healthy planting material. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Bacterial spotting. The causative agent is a bacterium Pseudomonas syringae van Hall. Yellowish translucent spots appear along the edges of the leaves, which gradually turn black and dry. Affected leaves curl and fall off. With high humidity, exudate appears on the tissues, consisting of a huge number of bacteria, odorless.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, culling of heavily affected plants, preventive spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Mottled veins of chrysanthemum leaves. The causative agent is Chrysanthemum vein mottle virus. - causes on young leaves a slight chlorosis of the veins and the appearance of numerous small yellowish spots between the veins. The spots shine through, dry out, the fabric falls out, and small holes form. The virus is transmitted by aphids.

Control measures. Removal of individual stems with symptoms, culling of heavily affected plants, spraying against aphids and other pests with drugs: Fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

Phlox protection from diseases and pests

Verticillium wilt. The causative agent is a fungus Verticillium albo-atrum R. et B. - a soil pathogen that causes wilting and death of plants during the growing season. Stems with leaves and buds suddenly turn yellow, turn brown and dry. The fungus from the roots penetrates into the vascular system and fills it with its biological mass, because of this, the flow of nutrients stops. On sections of the affected parts, a weak, barely noticeable grayish coating of mycelium with spores develops.

Control measures. The use of high-quality healthy planting material, compliance with all the requirements of agricultural technology for growing this crop. Culling of affected plants, spilling the soil with preparations: phytosporin, hamair, alirin-B. In the industrial cultivation of crops, treatments are carried out with analogues of fundazole (benomyl, benazol, benorad).

Powdery mildew. The causative agent is the mushroom Erysiphe cichoracearum DC. f. Phlogis Jacz.- causes the formation of a dense grayish-white coating on the leaves and shoots, which completely covers the bushes. Over time, the plaque darkens, dotted black fruiting bodies of the wintering stage form in it, the leaves turn brown and dry.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, spraying at the first symptoms with one of the preparations: fast, rayok, pure flower, keeper, topaz, thiovit Jet.

Septoria spotting. The causative agent is a fungus Septoria phlogis Sacc. and Speg. - causes the appearance on the leaves of numerous small spots with a diameter of 1-3 mm, brown, later turning white and merging into large necrosis. On the upper side, dotted black pycnidia form over time. Other pathogens are also common: Septoria phlogina Bond., S. divaricatae Ell. et Ev., S. drummondii Ell. et Ev. The spots are small, olive green or pale ocher, but always white and surrounded by a border of different colors.

Control measures. Collection of plant residues, preventive spraying with Bordeaux mixture or its substitutes.

Pennitsa is drooling. Large sucking insect up to 10 mm long, yellow-brown to black. Can fly and jump.

Control measures. To get rid of these flower pests as quickly as possible, you need to collect and destroy the larvae, spray the plants with preparations: fufanon, spark, kinmiks, biotlin, Inta-Vir.

Cabbage owl. The caterpillars of these flower leaf pests are green, with five yellowish longitudinal lines on the back and small yellow dots.

Control measures. Preventive and eradicating spraying in spring and summer with preparations for pests of flowers: fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

fawn leaf beetle Labidostomis lucida Germ. Beetle 5-9 mm long with an elongated body. The pronotum is blue or green, with sparse small dots, shining; the elytra are yellow with a black spot on the shoulders. It feeds in April-May on all shrubs and herbaceous plants, where it eats leaves.

Control measures. Collection and destruction of individual beetles. Preventive spraying of plants against a complex of pests also reduces the number of leaf beetles. Use one of the drugs: Fufanon, spark, kinmiks, Inta-Vir.

Incredible Facts

Among all the strange plants in the world, there are even those that consume flesh.

Well, maybe not exactly flesh, but insects, but, nevertheless, they are considered carnivores. All carnivorous plants are found in places where the soil is poor in nutrients.

These amazing plants are carnivores, as they catch insects and arthropods, secrete digestive juice, dissolve the prey, and in the course of this process receive some or most of the nutrients.

Here are the most famous carnivorous plants that use different types of traps in order to lure your prey.

1. Sarracenia

© konmesa / Getty Images

Sarracenia or the North American carnivorous plant is a genus of carnivorous plants that are found in areas of the east coast of North America, in Texas, in the Great Lakes, in southeastern Canada, but most are found only in the southeastern states.

This plant uses water lily-shaped trap leaves as a trap. The leaves of the plant have developed into a funnel with a hood-like formation that grows over the opening, preventing rainwater from entering, which can dilute the digestive juices. Insects are attracted to color, smell, and secretions like nectar at the edge of a water lily. The slippery surface and the drug that surrounds the nectar encourage insects to fall inward, where they die and are digested by protease and other enzymes.

2. Nepenthes

© genphoto_art / Getty Images

Nepenthes, a tropical insectivorous plant, is another type of carnivorous plant with a trap that uses water lily-shaped trapping leaves. There are about 130 species of these plants, which are widely distributed in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, Seychelles, Australia, India, Borneo and Sumatra. This plant is also nicknamed " monkey cup", as the researchers often observed how the monkeys drank rainwater from them.

Most types of Nepenthes are tall vines, about 10-15 meters, with a shallow root system. Leaves are often visible from the stem, with a tendril that protrudes from the tip of the leaf and is often used for climbing. At the end of the tendril, the water lily forms a small vessel, which then expands to form a cup.

The trap contains a liquid secreted by the plant, which may have a watery or sticky texture, and in which the insects eaten by the plant drown. The bottom of the bowl contains glands that absorb and distribute nutrients. Most of the plants are small and only catch insects, but large species such as Nepenthes Rafflesiana And Nepenthes Rajah, can catch small mammals such as rats.

3. Carnivorous plant Genlisea (Genlisea)

Genlisea is a small herb with yellow flowers that use a crab claw trap. Such traps are easy to get into, but impossible to get out of because of the small hairs that grow towards the entrance or, as in this case, forward in a spiral.

These plants have two distinct types of leaves: photosynthetic leaves above ground and special underground leaves that lure, catch and digest small organisms, such as the simplest. The underground leaves also perform the role of roots, such as water absorption and attachment, since the plant itself does not have them. These underground leaves underground form hollow tubes that look like a spiral. Small microbes get into these tubes with the help of a stream of water, but cannot get out of them. By the time they get to the exit, they will already be overcooked.

4. Darlingtonia California (Darlingtonia Californica)

Darlingtonia leaves are bulbous in shape and form a cavity with a hole under a balloon-like structure and two sharp leaves that hang down like fangs.

Unlike many carnivorous plants, it does not use trapping leaves to trap, but uses a crab claw-type trap. Once the insect is inside, they are confused by the specks of light that pass through the plant. They land in thousands of dense, fine hairs that grow inwards. Insects can follow the hairs deep into the digestive organs, but cannot go back.

5. Pemphigus (Utricularia)

They are the only carnivorous plants that use bubble trap. Most species have very small traps in which they can catch very small prey such as protozoa. Traps range from 0.2 mm to 1.2 cm, and larger prey, such as water fleas or tadpoles, fall into large traps.

The bubbles are under negative pressure relative to the environment. The opening of the trap opens, sucks in the insect and surrounding water, closes the valve, and all this happens in thousandths of seconds.

6. Zhiryanka (Pinguicula)

The leaves are succulent and usually bright green or pink in color. There are two special types of cells found on the upper side of the leaves. One is known as the peduncle and is made up of secretory cells at the top of a single stem cell. These cells produce a slimy secretion that forms visible droplets on the leaf surface and acts like a bug. Other cells are called sessile glands, and they are found on the surface of the leaf, producing enzymes such as amylase, protease, and esterase, which aid in the digestive process. While many species of butterwort are carnivorous all year round, many types form a dense winter rosette that is not carnivorous. When summer comes, it blooms and has new carnivorous leaves.

7. Sundew (Drosera)

Sundews are characterized moving glandular tentacles topped with sweet sticky secretions. When an insect lands on the sticky tentacles, the plant begins to move the rest of the tentacles in the direction of the victim in order to further drive it into a trap. Once the insect is trapped, small sessile glands absorb it and the nutrients go to plant growth.

8. Byblis

Its leaves have a round section, and most often they are elongated and conical at the end. The surface of the leaves is completely covered with glandular hairs, which secrete a sticky mucous substance that serves as a trap for small insects that land on the leaves or tentacles of the plant.

9. Aldrovanda vesiculosa (Aldrovanda vesiculosa)

The plant consists mainly of free-floating stems that reach 6-11 cm in length. Leaves-traps, 2-3 mm in size, grow in 5-9 curls in the center of the stem. The traps are attached to the petioles, which contain air that allows the plant to float. It is a fast growing plant and can reach 4-9mm per day and in some cases produce a new curl every day. While the plant grows at one end, the other end gradually dies.

The plant trap consists of two lobes that close like a trap. The holes of the trap are directed outward and covered with fine hairs that allow the trap to close around any prey that comes close enough. The trap closes in tens of milliseconds, which is one example. the fastest movement in the animal kingdom.

10. Venus flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula)

The leaf blade is divided into two regions: flat, long, heart-shaped petioles capable of photosynthesis and a pair of terminal lobes hanging from the main vein of the leaf, which form a trap. The inner surface of these lobes contains a red pigment, and the edges secrete mucus.

How to recognize pests on indoor plants? How to deal with bugs, spiders and ticks? Experienced flower growers recommend proven methods of dealing with uninvited "guests".

Causes of pests on indoor plants

How to get rid of at home? View a selection of effective tools and learn the rules for their use.

How to recognize insects? How to deal with them - the answers to these questions will help amateur growers keep plants in perfect condition.

Mealybug

Chemical control:

• Fitoverm.
• Actellik.
• Calypso.
• Biotlin.

Folk methods:

• tincture with lemon or orange zest;
• soap-alcohol solution;
• flower treatment with running water;
• garlic infusion;
• decoction of field horsetail;
• mixture of water and olive oil.

spider mite

Pest characteristics:

How to get rid of:

How to fight:

• sufficient watering: do not like a humid environment;
• regular inspection, mechanical removal of pests;
• treatment and systemic insecticides that penetrate the roots, stems, leaves of indoor flowers.

Effective Methods:

• soap solution against thrips. Prepare a strong foam, apply liberally to problem areas, carefully process all the leaves on which traces of the activity of harmful creatures are visible. For a noticeable effect, experienced flower growers recommend washing off the home remedy only after a day. During this period, not only adults will die, but also thrips eggs. After the procedure, rinse the greens well with clean water;
• sticky tapes located near plants, help to get rid of pests. The sight of insects stuck to the sticky surface worsens the aesthetic perception of the home flower garden, but for the sake of fighting thrips, it is worth enduring temporary inconvenience;
• decoction of potato- a proven folk remedy against thrips. Steam half a bucket of green mass with boiling water (how much will go in), leave for 8 hours, remove leaves and stems, strain the product. Spray infected plants daily.

Important! The fight will be successful with repeated spraying of the affected areas with insecticidal-acaricidal agents. You will need potent compounds: Karbofos, Fitoverm, Karate. The neurotoxins contained in the preparations Apache, Mosilpan are effective. The owners positively assess the effect of the combined agent Gaupsin. Bioinsecticide and fungicide actively fights adults, eggs of harmful insects.

Shchitovka

How to fight:

• with a small number of insects, remove them mechanically, wipe the leaves with alcohol or soapy water, in case of severe infection, cut off the affected leaves, burn;
• the method is effective for the destruction of adults.

How to scare away and how to prevent the re-invasion of gray pests? We have an answer!

Go to the address and learn about how to get rid of bed bugs in the apartment forever.

To combat eggs, you will need insecticides:

• Permethrin.
• Malathion.
• insecticidal soap.

Treat with toxic compounds not only the stem, leaves, but also the soil, in which insect eggs are often found. On the first day, application is required in the morning and evening, over the next ten days, one daily procedure is sufficient. To protect the flower, repel insects, spray the plant 1 time in 4 weeks.

Prevention measures

Compliance with the rules for caring for indoor flowers reduces the risk of pests. Each type of plant has its own norms of humidity, lighting, top dressing.

Basic Rules:

• optimal temperature regime;
• watering according to the norm for a particular flower;
• enough sunlight or shade;
• regular loosening of the soil for active access of oxygen to the root system;
• fertilizer with the use of organic components and synthetic preparations;
• regular inspection of all parts of the plant to identify pests and diseases;
• drainage system that prevents moisture stagnation;
• timely flower transplant if the flowerpot is too small;
• treatment with compositions based on natural ingredients to repel harmful insects;
• inspection of leaves, stems, soil when buying a new plant: often dangerous insects enter the apartment from a flower shop.

Pests of indoor flowers interfere with the normal development of plants, worsen the condition of buds, greenery, and the root system. Information about thrips, scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites will help you understand how to recognize harmful bugs and mites, how to deal with dangerous insects.

Mold, rot and small insects do not give life to plants? In the following video, useful tips on how to solve the age-old problem and cure plants from pests and diseases:

Uzambara (Uzumbarskaya) violet- a plant of the Gesneriev family, grows in the natural environment of tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Eastern Australia, South America and the Indian Ocean islands.

Saintpaulia- a plant named after the father and son of Saint-Paul, who brought a plant unknown to Europeans from the Uzambara district (modern Tanzania) in the 19th century, presented for the first time at the international flower exhibition in Ghent in 1893.

Violet room- one of the most popular plants in indoor floriculture since 1927. By 1949, more than 100 varieties were bred, and today their number exceeds several thousand.

rooting- possibly in water, in the substrate, moss.

Priming- purchased soil or a mixture of leafy, coniferous, soddy and peat soil in a ratio of 3: 1: 2: 1 with the addition of baking powder (perlite, vermiculite, river sand, crushed sphagnum moss.

Lighting- it is best to put flower pots on the western or eastern windows. In order for the plant to be evenly lit from all sides, the pots are periodically rotated. In winter, when daylight hours decrease, you can use artificial lighting - fluorescent lamps.

Care- real art and serious painstaking work at the same time, including watering, fertilizing, creating a favorable humid climate. Water Saintpaulia as the soil dries. The soil should be regularly moistened, but excess moisture should not stagnate in the roots. When watering, it is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves. Do not water the Uzambara violet with cold water. Top dressing is carried out with complex mineral fertilizer once every two weeks. Saintpaulia reacts negatively to a lack of nitrogen in the soil. The optimum air humidity is approximately 50%, the temperature is 20-22 ° C, without sharp fluctuations and drafts. The leaves of the plant should not touch the window pane. Removal of faded flowers and damaged leaves is carried out regularly.

reproduction- planting a leaf cutting, part of a leaf, a daughter outlet. The most popular method is rooting a leaf cutting. The formation of roots and the development of children lasts 4-8 weeks.

Pests- this is one of the problems of the grower. There are many different types of pests, it is very difficult to classify them. Among the pests of saintpaulia, several groups can be distinguished: mites (spider, flat, transparent, etc.), insects (aphids, thrips, springtails, podura, mealybugs, whiteflies, scale insects, etc.), worms (nematode).

Diseases- distinguish between infectious (gray rot, powdery mildew) and non-infectious diseases (rotting of the stem and root, wilting of the lower leaves, yellowing, leaf spot, incomplete opening and premature drying, falling flowers) of plants. The causative agents of infectious diseases are bacteria, fungi, viruses. To prevent an infectious disease, watering regimes, temperature, humidity, and illumination should be strictly observed. Non-communicable diseases usually occur due to violations of agricultural practices. They may appear on one instance and not spread to others.