Cabbage cream(Delia radicum) is one of the most dangerous pests of cabbage. Adult insects resemble flies but their larvae - caterpillars feeding on the roots are harmful to cruciferous vegetables. Seewhat does cabbage cream look likeand learn to recognize its symptoms. We suggest ways tocombating cabbage litterin home and allotment gardens and explain whatcabbage cream sprayingcan be done.
Cabbage cream - Delia radicum - adult fly and larvae
Fig. Rasbak (larvae) and AfroBrazilian (adult fly), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
What does cabbage cream look like?
Cabbage cream is afly, which damages the roots of cruciferous vegetables (kale, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips, swedes), as well as radishes and beets. It also feeds on oilseed rape and some weeds.Adult cabbage mustacheis gray in color. Its habit slightly resembles a housefly, but it is smaller (5.5 to 7.5 mm long).Cabbage larvaeare white, legless, 4-6 mm long.
Cabbage cream - symptoms and harm
As a result of the feeding of cabbage , plants grow slowly, wither and turn yellow, and if heavily infected, they die. After taking the plant out of the ground, you will notice shallow tunnels hollowed out in the roots. These are the most characteristicsymptoms of creamin the cultivation of cruciferous vegetables.
We will learn to better recognize and combat this pest by knowing its life cycle.Cabbage cream hibernates in the ground in the pupal stage. In spring, flies fly out, the females of which lay eggs near cruciferous vegetables or directly on their root necks. The departure of the second-generation cabbage flies falls on the second half of July.
Garbage larvae in cauliflower stalk
Fig. Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The hatched larvae feed outside the main rootOne plant can contain up to 300 larvae of cabbage. The cabbage root darkens and lacks side roots. Cabbage larvae feed in tunnels drilled in the root neck tissues. The final part of the damaged cabbage root is dark and rotten.Symptoms of feeding cabbage cloth are also seen on the leaves , which become lead gray and may die.
The harmfulness of cabbage clothis therefore very significant and it reduces the quality and quantity of the crop, with the greatest damage being caused by the first generation of this pest.
Cabbage cream - environmental control
In the garden cultivation of cabbage, beets and radishes, we should first reach forecological methods of combating cabbage creamIt is worth first of all to take advantage of the fact that in order to lay eggs, flies find cruciferous plants after their smell. It is easy to confuse the insect by planting other vegetables or aromatic herbs next to the cabbage, as well as by spraying the protected cabbage with tansy extract.
Ecological control of cabbage cream :
- When planting cruciferous vegetable seedlingstamp the soil around the root neck of the vegetable .
- Applying cardboard collars to the groundprotecting the soil around the root collar of the attacked vegetables. For this, a square with a side length of 12-15 cm or a circle with a diameter of 12-15 cm is cut from the cardboard. Then, in the center of one of the sides, we make an incision to the center of a square or circle, and a slightly larger hole in the center to accommodate the plant.Then we slide it under the planted vegetables. You can use an old CD to trace the circles in the cardboard, which will also make it easier to trace the holes inside the circles. Such covers can also be cut from felt or pieces of old carpeting.
Cardboard covers against cabbage debris
- Co-cultivation of cabbage with tomatoes or celery . The smell of these vegetables makes it difficult for the cabbage garbage to find the cabbage. You can also plant lettuce, dill or marigolds between the rows of cabbage.
- Covering the crop with a mesh with a fine mesh 1x1 mm or 1x1.5 mmThe mesh makes it difficult for flies to get into the cabbage and lay eggs. In the same way, we can protect cauliflowers, radishes and beets. The mesh cover will do the job as long as the vegetable beds are carefully covered and the edges of the mesh are perfectly flush with the ground. Set up the net immediately after planting the seedlings on the flowerbed, and only remove it during the harvest period.
- Spraying tansy extract(300 g of fresh tansy herb or 30 g of dried herb, pour 10 liters of water and leave until the next day, after about 24 hours, dilute with water in a ratio of 1: 2 and spray the cabbage). Tansy spraying is performed during the flight of flies. The smell of tansy discourages insects from sitting on the cabbage and laying eggs.
Cabbage cream - spraying
If natural methods prove to be insufficient, as a last resort, you can useplant protection products to combat cabbage cream . We can choose Karate Zeon 050 CS and Mospilan 20 SP.
Spraying with Karate Zeon 050 CS is performed in the spring,during theflight of the cabbage fly flies, which takes place from the end of April to the beginning of May. The recommended dose for a single use of the preparation is 1.2 ml dissolved in 6 liters of water per 100 m².
Another possible preparation for cabbage cream is Mospilan 20 SPBrussels sprouts and Chinese cabbage can be sprayed with it after the appearance of the pest or in the period from the first well-developed leaf phase to the end the 5th leaf phase. The cauliflower and broccoli are sprayed when the pest appears or after damage is noticed, from the 3 leaves phase to the phase of reaching 80% of the target head weight.Mospilan 20 SP is used in the amount of 2 g dissolved in 2-5 liters of water, which is enough to spray an area of 100m² of beds.
