Potatoes all over the head along with bread. Farmers and summer residents invest a lot of work to grow this culture. The Colorado potato beetle is a potato killer. He eats the tops of plants, leaving no chance for the crop to ripen. To save the crop, gardeners resort to insecticides. One of such effective means is Killer.Killer is a drug that helps get rid of the most annoying insects - Colorado beetles. These pests can destroy potato plantations in a matter of days. Increasingly, many regions are being massively destroyed by the Colorado potato beetle. Effective insecticides such as Killer are highly effective and least toxic. They are easy to use and, when used correctly, do not harm the environment. Therefore, in the market of poison from pests, they occupy a leading position.
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Harm from Colorado potato beetle
Few people imagine how dangerous the Colorado potato beetle is for a summer resident, or rather, for its labor. Since the beginning of spring, the female insect lays a huge number of eggs on the leaves themselves. She does this quite often. So in one season several generations of the Colorado potato beetle may be born.
Within one to two weeks, larvae appear. During their development, they need to eat well, which is why they eat the leaves on which they were born, so to speak. After the larvae receive all the necessary nutrients from the upper parts of the potato shoots, they descend into the ground.
An adult beetle grows from the larva in the ground. For food, the Colorado potato beetle can fly several tens of kilometers, thanks to strong wings. The insect eats only the stems and leaves of the culture - the tubers of the beetles themselves do not attract.
But due to the destruction of the tops, the tuber itself is weakly formed, since all the forces of the plant go to restore the top, and not to the formation of potatoes.
Of particular danger to potatoes is not the adult beetle, but its larva. This creature is capable of destroying up to 6 square cm of tops per day.
Features of the drug Killer
Killer effectively fights not only with the Colorado potato beetle. The tool is suitable for protecting the garden from various ticks, aphids and whiteflies.
Killer is produced in a concentrated form. Before use, the product must be diluted in water in the proportions indicated in the instructions for use.
The insecticide is intended for the treatment of crops such as:
- potatoes;
- cabbage;
- Tomatoes
- eggplant;
- pepper;
- berry crops.
The killer can be used both outdoors and in greenhouses and greenhouses.
The benefits of Killer from the Colorado potato beetle
Before its counterparts, Killer has several advantages. The drug has earned respect among professional gardeners and amateurs for such characteristics as:
- The killer manages the Colorado potato beetle in a short time;
- not washed off by rain;
- it is not addictive in insects;
- in heat, the effectiveness of the drug increases;
- destroys not only adults of the Colorado potato beetle, but also its larvae.
Active ingredients of the drug Killer
The composition of Killer against the Colorado potato beetle includes several active substances, with the help of which it is highly effective:
- cypermethrin (50 g per liter);
- chlorpyrifos (500 g per liter).
The active chemical substance Cypermethrin consists of eight isomers, each of which has a certain detrimental effect on the body of the insect. For the Colorado potato beetle, a combination of eight isomers carries death.
Cypermentrin primarily affects the nervous system of the beetle through the intestines. The parasite eats the treated leaf of the plant and dies.
Within a month after treatment, Cypermethrin is still weak, but retains its toxic properties. With increasing temperature, the properties increase.
Chlorpyrifos is dangerous for the larvae of the Colorado potato beetle. The active substance penetrates the larvae through the respiratory system and paralyzes the insect. Chlorpyrifos remains in the ground for up to four months!
In the complex, both active substances are able to exterminate not only beetles, but also their larvae in two days. Thus, the poison from the Colorado potato beetle is one of the most effective insecticides on the market.
Norms for treating plants with Killer
To destroy the Colorado potato beetle, Killer is used in several ways:
- potato seed tubers are processed immediately before planting in the ground;
- potato bushes are sprayed during their growth.
If you process potato tubers with a Killer-based solution before planting, then after spraying they must be carefully moved and dried a little. After the procedure, seed potatoes are planted in the ground in the usual way.
If you process already growing potatoes, then just one procedure is enough. When planning spraying, you need to focus on the timing of planting potatoes.
You need to irrigate the greens in the morning or in the evening. Under a very scorching sun, the drug can dry quickly, without having time to soak into the leaves and stems of the culture.
If the street is very windy or rainfall, then the processing of beds is also worth moving to another day.
Drug consumption
When using Killer against the Colorado potato beetle, it is worth strictly following the consumption rates of the drug. In its pure form, the product should never be used!
To treat the tubers take half a liter of water and mix with 10 ml of the drug. This amount of “poison” is enough to spray 25 kg of tubers of seed potatoes.
Killer Precautions
Since any insecticide is toxic, precautions should be observed during the treatment of plants:
- dilute the drug strictly according to the instructions;
- observe all proportions;
- Do not store poison for the Colorado potato beetle longer than the expiration date indicated on the ampoule;
- storage of the drug diluted with water is not provided, it must be diluted with water immediately before use, and the rest should not be used in the future;
- during the treatment of the garden with an insecticide, you must wear protective equipment: gloves, a raincoat, a mask;
- if the drug has got on an open area of the skin, then it should be washed off with running water, if eyes or respiratory tract were injured, then you should immediately consult a doctor;
Analogs means Killer
In the market of insecticides, there is a wide selection of drugs aimed at combating the Colorado potato beetle.The means differ only in cost, toxicity factor and concentration of active substances.
Several Killer analogues, which are similar in composition and principle of action:
- "Prestige";
- Destroy;
- "Bison";
- "Commander";
- Intavir
- "Spark".
Reviews about the tool Killer
Alexander, 60 years old, Astana:
“Killer helped me deal with various garden pests. But mostly I use it in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle. There are a lot of reviews about the composition. Basically - they are positive and I join them. Even in early spring, the bug begins to show itself in my garden. By the summer, he begins to destroy potato tops. It’s impossible to look at it! So how much work you invest in growing a crop! If it weren’t for Killer, whose name speaks for itself, I would not see potatoes! ”
Tamara, 62 years old, Moscow Region:
“Although they say that Killer is one of the most powerful poisons for beds, I use it and am pleased. If you breed the mixture according to the instructions, use in the correct proportion, then he can not do any harm to humans and animals. Moreover, I process my plants only with gloves! The product is sold in convenient ampoules, I have enough diluted liquid for all my beds with potatoes. The beetle Killer completely destroys, even the larvae do not remain! ”
Zakhar, 47 years old, Veliky Novgorod:
“I process potato tubers before planting. So it is under reliable protection of the drug Killer from the Colorado potato beetle. Poison has never let me down. Recently, I have been practicing the use of this insecticide on other crops. For example, I spray cabbage. The slugs are gone. ”
Elizabeth, 49 years old, Ryazan:
“Killer did not help me in the fight against beetles for a good potato crop. Perhaps I incorrectly spread it with water, or maybe the windy weather influenced me - but I did not see the point of spraying. The beetles both ate the tops and continued to eat them. I’ll try again in calm weather. ”