This article may be useful for gardeners using the drug "Prestige" for processing potatoes. How effective is it? Is it harmful to the body? How does it work? The article contains the main questions of gardeners and, of course, answers are given to them. All of the following is a purely personal opinion of the author, based only on reliable facts and recommendations of a specialist with a diploma in chemistry. Read and decide - trust or verify.
1. What is the composition of the tool "Prestige" (KS) for processing potatoes?
The drug, produced in the form of CS (concentrated suspension) and packaged in liter bottles, consists of imidacloprid and pencicuron (140 g / l and 150 g / l, respectively).
2. How does the Prestige preparation for processing potatoes work?
I must say that the selected composition is really effective against the vast majority of pests, including sucking and gnawing. No exception - insects that live in the soil. As an insecticide, the drug copes well with beetles, lenticular, lepidoptera, thrips; as a fungicide, it works against common scab and rhizoctonia. The mechanism of action of imidacloprid lies in blocking the transmission of nerve impulses (postsynaptic membrane receptors). Pencicuron, penetrating into the cuticles of plants, inhibits the growth of mycelium (more precisely, germination), inhibits the biosynthesis of sterol with free fatty acids inside the fungus and, which is also important, reduces glucose transport. Metabolism product - chlornicotinyl acid-imidacloprid (inducer of systemic resistance of plants), causing changes at the physiological and biochemical level, allows the plant to more easily overcome stress. In fact, the Prestige product not only protects the tubers from pests, but also protects the future crop from certain diseases, increasing resistance to abiotic and biotic "surprises" of the environment, increasing germination, improving shoot formation and growth of the vegetative mass, and enhancing photosynthetic processes. The drug has been proving its effect for several years.
3.
How should potatoes be processed before planting?There are no difficulties here. Seed tubers (dried) are pickled before planting with a working solution. It is most convenient to use a spray bottle, having previously laid out the potatoes on the oilcloth. No need to turn tubers. The percentage of water and suspension in the working solution is indicated in the instructions on the package. Tubers affected by wet bacterial rot do not process or plant (sorting is necessary).
4. How long is the substance "Prestige" for processing potatoes?
The agent protects the entire vegetable growth period from wireworms, from a beetle (Colorado) - at least two months from the time of emergence (the longer the period, the weaker the effect), from aphids - 40 days from the day of germination, from scab with rhizoctonia - growth time with capture flowering period.
5. Can the Prestige preparation for processing potatoes be combined with pesticides of other manufacturers?
They work very effectively when using Prestige and Maxim 025 FC together. However, this is only an observation. The study of tubers was not subsequently conducted, therefore, there is no guarantee that harmful substances are absent in them. Combining the drug with other pesticides is undesirable.
7. Is Prestige potato processing safe?
The first two months from the day the treatment is done, potato tubers should not be used. The manufacturer (“Bayer”) guarantees that you can easily enjoy young potatoes already 53 days after processing. But what really?
Imidacloprid, as stated, is the basis of the drug. Now it is recognized in almost all countries, since it is really very effective. Toxicity - medium (moderate poison). Acting on warm-blooded creatures (including humans), it causes tremors, disrupts coordination, weight loss due to diarrhea. It has an effect on the reproductive organs (increases the likelihood of spontaneous abortion and the likelihood of skeleton problems in the offspring). It also has mutagenic properties. Being chronically and acutely poisonous, imidacloprid becomes over time safe in relation to those pests that could develop resistance to it. According to a European Union study, the decomposition period of DT50 (imidoclooprid) averages from 77 to 200 days (field DT 50 - 174 days, laboratory DT 90 - 717 days). It turns out that the potatoes laid in the cellar for the winter become really safe. But statements regarding safety on a 53-day period are in doubt. Whether to process potatoes with Prestige is up to you. However, when comparing the action with other drugs that require multiple treatment, the choice in favor of it is obvious.
8. The drug "Prestige" for processing potatoes (reviews about its use).
Most gardeners who have tried the drug agree that it is truly effective. Tubers are practically not affected by wireworm and scab (except for the varieties "Grouse" and "Wizard"). As for the Colorado potato beetle, the insect larvae begin to appear mainly at the end of flowering.