Plant protection in spring: what to do in agriculture
2024. April 30.The first tasks in early spring are not just clearing away dry leaves and plant parts.
It’s not enough to move the soil and prepare it for sowing, because if it’s early spring, the first pests will arrive earlier.
We would now like to draw attention to a few important issues in spring plant protection.
We will find out what you need to look out for in order to maximise yields.
What to do with the trees?
Now is not the time to put off cleaning the trunks and thick branches of fruit trees.
The grape vines’ arms should also be cleaned, using a wooden scraper and wire brush.
The former can be used to remove bark flakes and bark chips, while the latter is responsible for brushing off the dirt that has accumulated on the trees.
In addition, it is a good idea to put a sheet under the plant to collect the debris, which must then be destroyed immediately.
Wash spraying
End-of-winter foliar spraying is necessary in almost all cases, especially if you also want to control fungal diseases.
A lot of rainfall increases the chances of them appearing and multiplying.
Spraying with Bordeaux juice or Vektafid R is therefore important.
And if you also want to keep insects away, you should use lime sulphur juice or Agrol Plus.
For larger quantities of fruit trees, of course, it is not possible to do all this manually, you will need machinery, a sprayer that can even be attached to tractors.
But make sure that you spray with plenty of juice, like a wash, so that you get enough of the pesticide to all the hidden parts of the tree.
Spraying larger areas
Of course, it’s not just the trees or bushes that need spraying.
For agricultural areas, a small bucket of chemical will not be enough, we need to do more.
Tankers are a great solution for this, and there are also 12,000 litre versions.
It has a power of 30 km/h and a maximum weight of 18,500 kg.
The towing device consists of an adjustable tow bar and a lower linkage, making it easy to attach to the tractor. 
It comes with 2 wire air brakes with ALB, the tank itself is stainless steel, painted dark green on the outside.
This should be more than enough to provide plant protection for several hectares of land.
Disinfecting the soil
Last but not least, soil disinfection is a must, as the soil can harbour a variety of pests such as wireworms, slugs and horse crickets.
These live here and if they become established they can cause huge damage, especially over a large area.
They are voracious eaters, and especially in spring, they will eat any tender part of the plant, destroying the crop.
Force 1,5 G, designed for home use, is a good solution to wireworms, but it can also be useful on larger farms.
Arvalin L-R can be effective against horse moths, but it is important that the spray is always applied shallowly into the soil.
A spiked soil loosener can be a great help if this is no longer possible by hand.
And the soil used for sowing and planting also contains the fungi that cause seedling death.
If you want to fight them, put the soil in the oven for a few hours to disinfect it.
As with the tasks mentioned above, this may not be possible, especially for large farmers, so you have to use the products you put in the soil.
You can use Dithane or Mycostop fungicide, among others.
However, instead of fumigation, it is not a bad idea to use stripped seeds, as they are resistant to pests and most diseases.
This will reduce the amount of chemicals needed in the field.