The wire worm is one of the biggest enemies of tuber producers. Even few populations can produce significant damage to crops, especially in mid-season and late plantations, since there is greater activity of the larvae.
Its scientific name is Agriotes spp, although it is commonly known with these names: wire worm, wire, doradilla, orovivo, piniler, etc.
This pest puts the quality of the crop at risk and this has a negative impact on the value of production.
The longevity of beetle larvae can live up to four years and usually develop in moist soils, so it affects beans, vineyards, potatoes, corn, beets or beets, lettuce, cabbage, onions, coffee, cotton, rice, radish …
You may also be interested: The most common garden pests
What damage does the wireworm cause?
The wire worm produces two different types of damage according to the time. This means that during the spring it tends to attack younger plants while in summer and autumn, it tends to attack roots, bulbs and tubers.
What do they do?
They pierce the roots and tubers and feed on the growth buds of plants, called buds. They even usually eat the seeds.
What are their characteristics?
The wireworm species are several, but all have similar characteristics. Therefore, for practical purposes its distinction is not necessary.
The larvae measure 18-20 mm and have a cylindrical shape, flattened and elongated. Its body is hard, it has three thoracic legs and its color is yellowish, orange, brown.
The beetle has a dark color and is usually called click beetle , since when it is threatened it jumps producing that sound.
This is elongated and flattened and feeds only on pollen, moving from flower to flower through flight.
We recommend you read: How to grow spinach?
How to get rid of the wire worm?
When the cold comes, the wire worm seeks refuge and in early spring it comes out again. One of the best weapons to combat Orovivo is through prevention.
However, there are various methods to get rid of the wireworm. Take note!
- Crop rotation: the idea is to plant much less palatable plants and then plant the most vulnerable crops.
- Solarization: apply manure, moisten it with water and cover the ground with a hermetically dark plastic. This will cause the fermentation heat to eliminate the worms from the wire.
- Fallow: leaves the ground unplanted for a couple of months; if possible, do it in summer, since the heat eliminates the plague.
- Arar: try to plow the ground for worms are fully exposed to the sun.
- Acquire trapswith pheromones and food baits.
- Add agricultural lime to the soil, since they do not feel like this element.
- Control weeds.
- Birds, frogs, moles, hedgehogs, carabidae beetles, scolopendras, toads and shrews fight the wireworm.
- To fight wireworm larvae, you can use a tobacco solution, soaking 200g of tobacco leaves in a liter of water for 10 days. Then dilute in five liters of water and spray.
- Potato trap: if you’ve seen wireworms in your crop, a good way to control them is through potato traps. This is done by cutting one or two potatoes in half, then burying them, so that they go to the potatoes so you can remove them.
- To capture these worms, fill a cut bottle (which you will have to make holes in beforehand) with cereal grains such as wheat or corn mixed with substrate. Leave on the plot on the ground and remove it every 10 days, counting the number of the worms captured.
