Spotting or holeiness of cabbage leaves is always a sign of a problem, no matter if it is a disease or an invasion of pests. True, in the latter case, it is worth paying more attention to insects, which often feed not only on juice, but also on plant tissues. What kind of pests are we talking about and what is worth knowing about possible ways to combat them - we will consider in this article.

Why do holes appear on cabbage leaves: the main reasons

The size, shape and even color of the damaged areas on the leaves directly depend on the type of insect that has settled on the culture. Growing cabbage, gardeners have to deal with a variety of pests, but the holes on the plant usually leave only a few of them: fleas, caterpillars, flies, aphids and slugs, and in each case it is important to determine what exactly you have to deal with. Consider the features of the life of each of the mentioned pests.

Did you know? Regular consumption of cabbage helps prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular problems by reducing the thickness of the walls of blood vessels. Vegetables with a similar effect include broccoli, radishes, turnips, swede.

Cruciferous flea

This pest is most often found on cruciferous crops: cabbage, rutabaga, radish, radish and turnip. In appearance, it is an ordinary small insect of a dark color that appears on plants with the advent of spring and the stabilization of air temperature within + 15 ° C or higher. These are ideal conditions for laying eggs, from which gluttonous young individuals will soon appear.

Bugs actively eat leaves and shoots of young shoots, scraping them, and stronger larvae can also damage the fragile root system of cabbage. With a massive pest invasion, tender seedlings die on the 2nd – 3rd day, so the sooner you diagnose the problem, the more chances you get to get a quality crop. Small single holes on the leaves and shoots - the first alarm bell.

Cabbage Butterfly Caterpillars

Young individuals of the cabbage butterfly are clearly visible caterpillars (often reach a length of 3.5 cm), with 16 legs and a greenish-yellow body, covered with black dots and black hairs. Along the back, on the sides, it is easy to notice 3 yellow stripes by which many gardeners recognize this pest.

True, the appearance of the caterpillar can vary depending on its age: at the initial stages, it has a light green color, with dark warts scattered throughout the body, and a little later it becomes more saturated with a clearly visible shade of yellowness.

Crawling through the culture, young individuals actively feed on the pulp of the edges of the lower part of the leaves, leaving sticky secretions on their surface, which, when they come into contact with the skin, often cause allergic manifestations in the person himself. Older individuals prefer the upper parts of young leaves, gradually eating away all young heads of cabbage (only thick veins remain).

Unfavorable conditions for the propagation of tracks are considered to be high temperature indicators and excessively low humidity, while optimal indicators in this case are values ​​at the level of + 20 ... + 26 ° C with humidity indicators in the range of 40-50%.

Slug

Slimes are called gastropods, which, as a result of centuries of evolution, have lost a strong shell. Their soft and elongated body is completely covered with mucus, which remains on the surface of the plants during the movement of the pest. After drying, such traces acquire a beautiful silver hue, thanks to which they are noticeable even from a height of human growth.

Another characteristic sign of the presence of pest on the cabbage are large holes along the entire surface of the leaf plate. Such places are an excellent environment for the development of fungal and viral infections that contribute to the withering and complete death of the whole head of cabbage, so slugs are doubly dangerous for crops.

Given that this pest prefers conditions of high humidity (in particular, and in the upper soil layers), it is worthwhile to exclude the possibility of stagnation of moisture after irrigation, while simultaneously contributing to good sunlight in the garden bed. In addition to cabbage, slugs willingly eat the fruits of strawberries, cucumbers and some other vegetable crops, so if there is no reaction to their presence, you can say goodbye to the harvest of other plants.

Cabbage Scoop Caterpillars

Cabbage scoop - a fairly common butterfly of the scoop family, often found on plantations with cabbage. Adult individuals are not as dangerous as their gray-brown caterpillars, actively feeding on the leaves of many cruciferous plants (they can affect up to 70 species belonging to 22 different families).

Their presence on the culture can be determined by the small holes left on the outer parts of the leaf plates. In addition, the presence of holes in the already formed head of cabbage remaining after the presence of adult individuals is not excluded.

Important! A characteristic feature of the cabbage scoop is its high fertility, because only one female can lay at least 600-700 eggs in 10-14 days, of which a large number of voracious caterpillars will appear in 2 weeks later. Several of these clutches can completely destroy young plants.

Cabbage fly

Cabbage fly is another dangerous pest of all cruciferous plants. Despite their small size (usually all representatives of these insects do not grow more than 1 cm in length), they quickly deal with cabbage plantations, laying a huge number of eggs on vegetables.

The incubation period is 7–10 days, after which you can see white, legless larvae up to 8 mm long on the fruits. All of them actively feed not only on the green part, but also on the root system of young plants, therefore it is not surprising that all cabbage seedlings die quickly.

Spring and summer cabbage flies are distinguished: the first invasion occurs in late April or early May, while the latter flies to the area around mid-June, when the street temperature stabilizes at + 18 ° C.

Cabbage aphid

Like many previous ones, this pest does not differ in impressive dimensions, but even with a body length of not more than 2.2 mm, it is capable of causing serious harm to cabbage plantings. You can detect an insect only with a thorough examination of the culture, because in combination with a small size, a greenish body with a light gray waxy coating serves as an excellent disguise for entire colonies.

Holes in the leaves appear in the process of sucking juices with the proboscis of an insect, but these holes are not always clearly visible with the naked eye, so gardeners often begin to sound the alarm only when the entire plant withers.

A characteristic feature of cabbage aphids is a relatively short life cycle, which is why no more than 10–20 generations of insects manage to change during the season. Each female individual is able to bring into the world no more than 40 new pests, and then during the spring and even in the beginning of summer only flightless individuals appear, which prevents massive damage to plants.

Winged insect representatives are born closer to the middle of summer, and then neighboring beds with cabbage plantations can suffer. In addition to personal harm to the crop, they also attract about 20 different viral ailments to the plantations, which in some cases are quicker to kill the heads themselves.

Important! Attracting beneficial insects to the territory will not help get rid of aphids by biological methods, since it is toxic to most of them. Having tried such a “delicacy”, ladybugs either die en masse or are in a hurry to leave a dangerous place.

What to do and how to process cabbage

Soon after the full ripening of the vegetable, the heads of cabbage can be on the dining table, so every gardener in the fight against pests tries to use chemicals to a minimum. Indeed, while there are few insects, there is no reason to water the plants with insecticides, it is better to pay attention to alternative methods of eliminating the emerging problem.

Folk remedies

The so-called folk remedies for the control of pests and diseases of cabbage, and the truth is, a lot, and most of them are available to every housewife. Liquid ammonia, salt, vinegar, and even pharmacy chamomile are probably in almost every house, and it is from them that solutions useful for spraying are obtained. We suggest that you learn more about such substances that are suitable for treating damaged heads of cabbage.

Ammonia

The smell and constituents of ammonia are unpleasant and dangerous not only for humans, but also for many other living creatures, therefore, by including this substance in the composition of the spraying mixture, there is no doubt that most pests will rush to leave the cabbage. The main thing - when using ammonia, follow certain rules of the treatment procedure, so as not to harm either yourself or the culture.

First of all, they include the following recommendations:

1. It is necessary to prepare the solution only in fresh air and always with the use of rubber gloves and a respirator.
2. It is advisable to use the finished mixture immediately after preparation, preventing its stagnation.
3. To treat the stands with the prepared solution, only a sprayer with large nozzles or a fine-meshed watering can is suitable, since in the "fog" mode the ammonia evaporates faster than it gets on the surface of the plant and will not have any effect on pests.
4. It is better to remove heavily damaged leaves before spraying, and if possible, the procedure itself should be carried out either early in the morning or in the evening, after sunset.
5. The soil under the cabbage should be slightly moistened so that during treatment with an ammonia solution it does not soak into the soil and does not harm the root system of young plants.
6. A few days before and another 2-3 days after spraying, try not to add nitrogen-containing fertilizers to the soil, because ammonia itself contains a considerable amount of this substance, and its excess in the heads is very undesirable.

Did you know? Ammonia is successfully used not only in medicine and gardening, but also in everyday life, especially when it is necessary to clean heavily soiled or even greasy surfaces. For example, to preserve the color of the painted floor or door will help a solution of 1 tbsp. tablespoons of alcohol and 1 liter of water, and all adhering dirt will be successfully washed away.

Salt

Regular table salt is an excellent remedy in the fight against cabbage fly, aphids, snails and slugs. A working solution can only be prepared using warm water, and you can add a small amount of table vinegar to the salt, which perfectly enhances the positive effect of the finished mixture. Before watering the aisles or spraying the heads themselves, it is advisable to dig out the soil from the heads of cabbage a little, and after processing, sprinkle the trunk circle with a small amount of wood ash.

Vinegar solution

A solution of vinegar will be useful when invading caterpillars of any variety of butterflies: both familiar cabbage and scoop. In addition, a solution of table vinegar can be used to treat plantations from a flea, only the proportions of the substance with respect to water will always be different.

With a ready-made mixture, you can either pour cabbage from a watering can, or spray heads of water from a small spray bottle in warm and clear weather. With moderate damage to cabbage leaves by insects, only one treatment will be enough, but if after 2 weeks the problem arises again, then you will have to repeat the procedure again.

The infusion of pharmacy chamomile

The infusion of pharmacy chamomile is another good remedy for the butterfly cabbage and its caterpillars. You can prepare suitable raw materials yourself by simply cutting off the aerial part of the plant during its flowering, and then grinding it and pouring it with water. After filtering, the prepared daily infusion should be diluted once again with water, the amount of which is selected based on the existing problem: it can be 1 liter of ready infusion per 10 liters of water, and 3 liters per the same amount of clean liquid.

Did you know? The name "skit" (today, by this term is meant an amateur mass event) has a long history. The fact is that it was with the harvesting of this vegetable in Russia that traditional girl festivities began, ending with the end of the harvesting work. During the harvest, they were supposed to sing "cabbage" songs.

To keep the composition longer on cabbage leaves, you can add a handful of soap shavings to the mixture and mix everything well. In the absence of pharmacy chamomile, you can use mustard infusion, the powder of which has similar effectiveness. It is diluted in water and used in its pure form for dusting the heads, so each gardener can choose the most suitable method for himself.

Chemicals

If all the used folk remedies did not bring the desired result or the bed of cabbage has become a refuge for too many insects, you can’t do without chemical compounds. Universal in this regard will be the Intavir preparation, which is equally effective against aphids, cabbage whites, scoops, various caterpillars and even slugs.

The results of studies conducted by the manufacturer confirm the appropriateness of its use in the fight against 52 species of insect pests, therefore this composition is recommended for processing from a variety of sucking and leaf-eating species. When a pest enters the body, the constituent components of the drug cause spasms, convulsions and ultimately its complete paralysis, as a result of which the individual dies on the third day after contact with the chemical.

The main active ingredient of Intavira is cypermethrin, which is a synthetic version of the natural toxin present in chamomile, tansy and chrysanthemum. Most often, to achieve the most positive result, just one treatment is enough, however, in advanced cases, repeated spraying with the drug may be required, sometimes even 2-3 times per season.

Important! When working with a chemical, smoking, drinking or eating is not allowed. Hands and face must be protected with gloves and a respirator.

Preventative methods

In order not to think about ways to eliminate the existing problem, it is worth making maximum efforts to prevent it. When growing cabbage, the first thing to pay attention to protect the crop from pests and diseases is the correct cultivation in compliance with all agrotechnical requirements.

First of all, they include the following:

1. Thorough preparation of the site for planting with mandatory cleaning of all plant debris after collecting the previous crop (it is best to burn it) and digging the soil on a bayonet shovel.
2. The earliest possible planting of seedlings in the ground (should warm up to at least + 3 ... + 5 ° C), so that by the time the pests appear, it has already taken root in a new place and is strong enough to withstand it.
3. The use of covering materials in the attack of cruciferous fleas and the mass appearance of butterfly whites. This is the easiest way to protect the culture, which will not allow insects to lay eggs.
4. Timely removal of weeds from the site, and not only in the beds with cabbage, but also in areas where related plants grow: turnip, radish, rutabaga, broccoli.
5. Properly organized irrigation, providing for dosed moistening of the substrate and preventing moisture stagnation in the upper layers of the soil.
6. The optimal ratio of mineral and organic fertilizing, contributing to the strengthening of the body's defenses.

In addition, at the first signs of pest activity, even if there are a limited number of holes on the cabbage leaves, it is important to conduct timely treatment with “folk” or chemical compounds, completely removing badly damaged heads. With a competent approach to the prevention and control of cabbage pests, most likely, it will be possible to avoid a massive invasion of insects, which means that you can save crops and other neighboring crops.