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Photo: superagronom.com
In the Lviv region, there were two waves of high temperatures, and between these periods, spider mites became active on soybeans. This was reported to DEFENDA in a comment from Lviv Oblast.
According to him, if local farmers did not monitor their fields very carefully, they experienced a very severe infestation by this pest. The mites managed to lay eggs and began to multiply rapidly. Local farmers had to carry out two insecticide treatments against the pest.
The rains that occurred in the region somewhat slowed down its spread, but with the return of hot weather, the situation repeated itself.
He emphasized that soybean crops must be constantly monitored to detect pest threats. If it is spreading only in the marginal strips, then only they can be treated. If foci are found deeper within, then the entire field needs to be treated.
«The mite feeds quickly on the plant’s sap, bites the cells, and the crop begins to dry out. Initially, these are yellow spots on the leaves, and then they dry up, and you will not get a harvest from such a plant. Moreover, monitoring needs to be done with a magnifying glass in hand, as the pest is so small that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Sometimes farmers send me photos of damaged crops, thinking that some disease has affected the soybeans. In reality, it was the mites that caused the damage, but they were not detected in time due to overly superficial examination. Under a magnifying glass, you can even see how these tiny mites move», — explained Yuriy Yakubchuk.
Currently, the threat from spider mites is quite high, so the use of insecticidal treatments is necessary.
«We first detected mites on soybeans in mid-July. We carried out marginal treatments with an acaricide by drones, and the seed areas were treated continuously. The next wave occurred in early August, and we worked the same way. Mites were first detected on corn on August 5-6. The pest is present in all areas, with detection starting from the shelterbelts/forests. Waves were consistently recorded in different subdivisions at intervals of 3-4 days, depending on the subdivision», — said Dmytro Kyselyov, Deputy Director for Agricultural Development at “Zakhidny Bug” company.
Read also: Spider mites are actively spreading in Ukraine: how to identify and stop the pest (updating)
«DEFENDA’s portfolio includes the product Miral, with the active ingredient fenpyroximate 50 g/l. It is used at a rate of 1 l/ha along with the acaricidal adjuvant Siltek at a rate of 200 g/ha. The insecticide works on all mobile stages of the mite and also has high ovicidal activity», — noted the specialist.
Olena Basanets, SuperAgronom.com
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