Inexpensive way to control aphids, thrips and powdery mildew

Today we will talk about one of the organic ways to control painful pests - pest serum.

Among all the existing methods of non-chemical pest and disease control, the following deserves attention - the use of milk whey, a familiar product that can be bought in almost any store.

Serum use 

The use of this product in crop production is not new - it is popular for them to process and feed plants. Gardening and horticulture have their own secrets. Milk whey contains a lot of substances useful for the plant. First of all, these are various proteins. Proteins contain nitrogen, and when applied to a plant or when irrigated with serum under the root, these nitrogenous substances are included in the microbial metabolism, nitrogen is released, which can be absorbed by plants, and thus nitrogen feeding is carried out. In addition, whey contains a fairly significant amount of very readily available phosphorus and potassium and various other minerals, including trace elements. The serum creates extremely favorable conditions both on the surface of the leaves and in the root growth zone for various beneficial microorganisms, forming a specific environment. At the same time, the protein substances contained in the whey, when applied to the surface of plants, create a thin, invisible, almost imperceptible protein film. This protein film prevents the penetration of various pathogens into the leaf, for example, powdery mildew, and in general, the method of combating spider mites, aphids and thrips is well known.

Pest control serum. What pitfalls are there? 

The fact is that whey has a rather high acidity, especially if you keep it warm before use, lactic acid bacteria continue to develop in it, accordingly, its acidity increases, and this excess of lactic acid on the surface of plants is quite harmful, they are not so high acidity they are very fond of, with the exception of those plants that need high acidity in the root zone. These are heather, for example.

If you look at the scale, it turns out that it belongs to strongly acidic substances, with an acidity of 4-5 pH, this value is not entirely useful for plants.

Neutralization of whey with ammonia 

The way to neutralize whey has traditionally been the addition of soda ash, about one tablespoon to one liter of whey per bucket of water. You can use liquid ammonia or ampoules. If it is a solution in a vial, then it is usually 40 ml. in 10% concentration, if these are ampoules, then they come in 1 ml. If you measure the acidity, then it is very high, that is, the solution is extremely alkaline.

If serum is neutralized with ammonia solution, approximately 40 ml is needed. Dissolve ammonia in one liter of whey and all this for 1 liter of water. Ammonia interacts with lactic acid, ammonium lactate is formed, a very useful salt is obtained, a powerful antioxidant, this is not so important for the plants themselves, but very important for plants that live in the root zone.With such a solution, it is wonderful to spray all vegetables, roses, other shrubs, especially those that suffer from powdery mildew, currants, gooseberries. Especially, of course, vegetables, since this solution does not have a waiting period. Can be processed in the morning, and in the evening rinse the leaves and collect the fruits. It is a wonderful organic and ecological and safe method with fungal diseases and some insects.