Specialists of the plant quarantine and seed growing sector of the Astrakhan branch of the Rostov Reference Center of Rosselkhoznadzor, together with inspectors of the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions and the Republic of Kalmykia, within the framework of monitoring the quarantine phytosanitary state of the controlled territory, conducted surveys of the territory with pheromone traps Astrakhan region.
The surveys were carried out in eight districts of the region. In total, 230 traps were installed in 51 peasant farms in the region, a total of 2236 hectares were surveyed.
As a result of monitoring, three cases of pest detection in territories that were not previously included in the distribution zone were identified. However, when conducting control examinations with the selection of samples of vegetative parts of plants and fruits, the presence of a quarantine object was not confirmed.
Potato moth (Latin Phthorimaea operculella) is a pest not only of potatoes, but also of other plants of the nightshade family (tomato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco).
The damaging stage is the caterpillar, which damages the leaves, stem and tubers. Tubers on plantings are damaged only where they come to the surface or there are soil cracks above them. In the conditions of the Russian Federation, the potato moth does not affect the yield of potatoes in the field.
From the eggs laid by the female potato moths, larvae are born, which penetrate under the epidermis of the leaf blades, and then gnaw numerous passages (mines) in the seedlings and tubers. As a result of damage, the potato loses its presentation and becomes unfit for human consumption.
Since the larva of the pest is located inside the tubers, it is not easy to notice the infection of the tubers in a timely manner. With mass reproduction of a colony in one tuber, there can be up to ten larvae, which gradually turn the fruit into dust.