Colorado Potato Beetle Damages Potatoes in August

In August, the Colorado potato beetle continues to cause serious damage to potatoes, especially during the second wave of larval emergence. Timely control measures are necessary to avoid negative impacts on yield.

This is reported by AgroReview

Vasyl Bolekhivskyi, the chief agronomist of the “Potato” cluster at Continental Farmers Group, noted in his article for the magazine “Planter”:

“The pest actively consumes all the green mass of potatoes in the last month of summer. Therefore, controlling the Colorado potato beetle should involve three operations – one treatment and two sprayings.”

The Colorado potato beetle remains a significant problem for potato cultivation, the expert emphasizes. Although there are agrochemical means to combat it, it is important to remember that treatments are only effective until the larvae appear.

“Moreover, if you do not take action, you will not be able to control the larvae, which can spread rapidly over a large area like wildfire. Therefore, as soon as you see it locally, you should immediately apply treatments during the main season, at the budding phase,” added Mr. Bolekhivskyi.

Read also: An innovative biopesticide against the Colorado potato beetle has been tested in the USA.