COMMON PESTS OF THE PUMPKIN AS WE CAN AVOID AND ELIMINATE THEM

Pumpkins tend to develop in a warm climate, so they move from plants to edible vegetables during the summer season. However, this sweet food is susceptible to the appearance of insects and external bugs capable of ending such a rich harvest in a short time. If you like pumpkins and you have some kind in your garden, pay attention to the following article. This time I'm going to tell you how to avoid the pests of the pumpkin and treat them properly and eradicate them and enjoy pumpkins healthy.

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HOW TO AVOID THE PESTS OF THE PUMPKIN
Steps to follow:

To avoid the appearance of possible insects, take good care of your pumpkin plants. If you see outbreaks of weeds or weeds around you, remove them with great care and this way you will save your pumpkins from the beetle. On the other hand, if you see bugs on the leaves of the plant, try to remove them yourself with your hands. You will notice that they are yellow with spots, which can be black, green or yellow.

Another good trick, to hunt down the undesirable beetles, is to place a piece of cardboard under the pumpkin plant.

Then, observe and control the cardboard daily. If you see any beetle between the cardboard and the ground, throw it in a bucket with soap and water.

There may also be brown (if they are adults) or whitish (if they are young) bugs that perch on the bottom of the leaves of the pumpkin plant. Or you can find their eggs (red, yellow or brown). Prune leaves that contain this type of pest.

Apply the right pesticides to your pumpkin plants. Sprinkle on the leaves or apply on the roots, depending on the pesticide. Follow the instructions that you will find in the product. Ask your usual gardening or nursery shop which is the most convenient.

WHAT ARE THE PESTS OF THE PUMPKIN?

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SNAILS AND BABY
Sometimes we can find snails or slugs in our pumpkins. They are considered mollusks (gastropods) and like to go out at night when the weather is humid. Its buccal apparatus is very characteristic, constituted by a kind of tongue covered by a blade called radula. The radula has very small teeth that help to crush the food. These animals begin to eat pumpkin when it is growing because it is when the bark is softer. It is very easy to detect them, we should only observe if there is baba in the surroundings

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ECOLOGICAL METHODS THAT YOU CAN USE TO ELIMINATE THEM. Place containers at ground level, such as cut bottles. In them, you can add beer or a solution of water, sugar, flour and yeast. The snails will chase the smell and fall into the trap. Another method is to sprinkle the earth with coffee or garlic infusion. You just have to make a coffee, dilute it in water (2ml of coffee per 100ml of water) and apply it around the affected plants. The infusion of garlic is also effective: boil 4 cloves of garlic, let cool, remove the garlic and apply it in the garden.

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VINE DRILLS
Attack the pumpkin, zucchini and zucchini. The borers winter on the ground like pupae in buds. When adult moths emerge in mid-summer, they lay eggs alone or in small groups at the base of the stems. The eggs will hatch between 1 and 2 weeks after they are laid. The larvae are introduced into the stems to feed for 2 or 4 weeks; sometimes they can also be introduced into the fruit. In the northern areas, there is one generation per year; in the southern areas, there may be two generations. If detected early, it is possible to save the plant. If it is captured after the eggs hatch, it may be too late.
The damage produced by the leaves of the plant will probably begin to wither. Look for holes in the base of the plant and green-to-yellow-orange droppings similar to sawdust.
The borers of the pumpkin vine feed on the material within the stems of the plants. The stem will rot at the feeding site.

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HOW TO IDENTIFY THEM

Eggs: The eggs are tiny, flat, oval and brown. The eggs are laid scattered around the bases of pumpkin and zucchini plants. Larvae: If a stem is opened lengthwise with a sharp, sharp knife, the borer larva will be seen, which has a fat, white, wrinkled body and a brown head; It can grow up to about 2 and a half centimeters long.

Moth: The adult is a moth less than 1 centimeter and a half long that looks a bit like a wasp with a black body, marked with orange-red. The rear wings are transparent and the front wings are metallic green.

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THE CONTROL OF THE CALABAZA VINE BARRIER IS MAINLY OF PREVENTION. HOW TO GET RID OF THEM

If you detect them very early, you can manually remove the pumpkin vine borer. Cut the lower stem longitudinally with a fine, sharp knife to remove the larva by hand. Gardeners usually make a vertical opening in the stem with a sharp knife and manually extract the larvae. One plant can house several. Then cover the stem section with moist soil around the point of injury to promote the formation of secondary roots. In addition, the extra fertile land near the vines helps to uproot. Or, if you see entry holes and "sawdust," try inserting a wire and threading the stem at some distance to kill the internal larvae. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the stems when the pumpkin vines are small. Reapply after the rain. Also, build the soil around the vines. Or, sprinkle black pepper around the plants as a defense. If possible, capture and destroy the moths at twilight or early in the morning when they are resting on top of the leaf bases.

There are also insecticides, but the timing is critical; They are effective when they are applied at the moment when the eggs are incubating. The biological insecticide can be injected into the stems of pumpkins, however, it is generally not effective because the larvae are protected inside the plant.
Catch adult orange moths with yellow sticky traps and bowls of yellow soapy water. An old remedy says that the ashes of the wood were effective against the borer of the pumpkin vine.

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CUCUMBER BEETLE
Adult striped cucumber beetles are about half a centimeter long and have a yellow and black striped abdomen and a dark head and antennae. The spotted cucumber beetles have the same length but have 12 black spots on a yellow abdomen. The larvae are worms, white, dark-headed and have three pairs of legs in the thorax.

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DAMAGE CAUSED BY CUCUMBER BEETLE
Look for holes and yellowed and withered leaves. The yield of the crops will be low; the plants will produce yellow and atrophied fruits.
Often, cucumber beetles alone do not kill plants or cause major damage, but they do spread diseases. Adult cucumber beetles overwinter in weeds, garden debris and wooded areas. The diseases they carry can also spend the winter internally, and can be transmitted to the plants next spring through fecal matter.

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CONTROL AND PREVENTION

Inspect freshly planted cucurbitaceae plants for the presence of this beetle; Be attentive when the plants are seedlings.

Cover the seedlings with row covers, although you must remove them during the flowering time several hours a day to allow pollination.

Use yellow adhesive traps to trap cucumber beetles.

Hit the beetles on the ground and trap them with a piece of cardboard placed under the plant.

Use a hand vacuum to vacuum the beetles.

They are very difficult to pick up by hand, but it is easier to pick them by hand with yellow gloves coated with Vaseline.

Few insecticides can be used on cucurbits because they are very sensitive. They would need to be used when the plants are just beginning to emerge through the soil.

Eliminate weeds and crop residues at the end of the season.

Crop rotation.

Put a straw padding to make it difficult for them to climb on the plants.

TIPS.
Do not plant pumpkins in the same bed two years in a row. The borers of the pumpkin vine spend the winter in cocoons on the ground. Also, clean up all the debris and clean your land in the fall.
As soon as the pumpkin is harvested, get rid of the vines. To the ground in the fall and spring to get rid of the pupae during the winter.
Preventive measures include covering the stems with a barrier, such as strips of nylon stockings or aluminum foil, to prevent the laying of eggs.
Importing parasitic wasps before the egg stage can be useful since these wasps are the natural enemies of borers.
One of the best solutions is to cover the crops with floating row covers to avoid laying eggs (but only if you are sure that there are no pupae hibernating on the ground). You can also cover the frames with them. This will not only give you an advantage over pests, but it will protect your plants from strong heat and frost.
A popular advice states that nasturians and wood ashes are effective against cucumber beetles.

Source:
https://www.agrohuerto.com/la-calabaza-plagas-enfermedades
https://hogar.uncomo.com/articulo/como-evitar-las-plagas-de-la-calabaza-31988.html http://www.mijardin.es/problemas/plagas/escarabajo-pepino/ http: / /www.mijardin.es/problemas/plagas/barrenador-vid-calabaza/

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