Healthy and strong tomato seedlings are the key to a good harvest. But often young plants are subject to diseases and pest attacks.
The spider mite is an insect that can infect and destroy seedlings. The pest weaves a thin web, sucks juices from plants, provokes various diseases, which causes death. You can cope with the insect if you take the right actions in time.
Insulation
The easiest way to prevent mass infection of seedlings is isolation. To do this, young tomato bushes with signs of disease are taken to another room, and the affected leaves are removed. And healthy seedlings are inspected for the presence of a pest.
Alkali
You can get rid of spider mites on young plants using an alkaline solution. To prepare it, use laundry soap, which is crushed using a grater and dissolved in warm water. The components are mixed in a ratio of 1:5.
The leaves of the plants are wiped with the prepared soap solution or sprayed with a spray bottle. The procedure is repeated every two days, and for preventive purposes - once a week.
Garlic infusion
Garlic is a natural antioxidant with antiviral and antimicrobial effects. An infusion of the vegetable stops the proliferation of insect pests. To prepare the solution, use 2 liters of water and 300 grams of garlic.The cleaned cloves are passed through a press, poured in and infused in a dark place for a week.
To treat seedlings, 50 ml of concentrate is dissolved in a bucket of water and treated leaf by leaf.
The procedure is carried out once every three days, and as a preventive measure - once every 10 days.
Walnut leaves
You can cope with spider mites using a decoction of walnut leaves. Fresh leaves and water are used for preparation. 0.5 kg of greens is poured into 5 liters and infused for several hours. The prepared broth is rubbed or sprinkled on the tomatoes. Treatment of young plants is carried out once and repeated after 10–14 days.
Alcohol solution
Alcohol is another simple and safe way to get rid of insects. Add 10 ml of ethyl alcohol to 1 liter of water and mix well. Tomatoes are treated with an alcohol solution once a week. It is not recommended to carry out the procedure in sunny weather.
Traditional methods help to quickly and without harm get rid of the pest and preserve the seedlings.
