How to control the grey field snail? Mastering these methods is very effective
The grey field snail is a mollusk of the order Stylommatophora, family Bradybaenidae. It is widely distributed across China, mainly infesting jute, kenaf, ramie, cotton, legumes, corn, barley, wheat, vegetables, melons and so on. It damages hemp leaves by creating notches, and in severe cases bites through hemp seedlings, causing missing plants and broken rows. Let's take a look together below at how to control the grey field snail!
Morphological characteristics
The grey field snail is about the same size as a river snail, with a slightly thick, solid, spherical shell. The shell height is 19 mm and width 21 mm, with 5.5 to 6 whorls; the top few whorls grow slowly and are slightly inflated, while the body whorl grows rapidly and becomes swollen. The shell surface is yellowish-brown or amber, with fine and dense growth lines and spiral lines. The shell apex is pointed. The suture is deep. The shell aperture is oval, with a complete, slightly reflexed, sharp and fragile lip. The columellar margin is reflexed at the umbilicus, slightly covering the umbilicus. The umbilicus is narrow and slit-like. Individual size and color vary considerably. The egg is spherical and white.
Occurrence pattern
In Shanghai and Zhejiang, it has 1 generation per year, overwintering in late November as adult and young snails in soil crevices of field ridges, under dead plants and fallen leaves, and under objects in front of and behind houses. It begins activity in early to mid-March of the following year. This snail hides during the day and feeds in the evening or early morning, and on cloudy and rainy days it often stays on plants all day. In late April to early to mid-May, adult snails begin mating, and shortly afterward lay eggs in clusters in the moist soil at the base of plant stems. The newly laid eggs have a mucous surface, and after drying the eggs stick together into masses. Newly hatched young snails mostly gather together to feed, and after growing up they disperse to do damage, preferring to inhabit dense, low-lying, moist places among plants. Damage is severe in warm, rainy weather and in moist field plots. Under high-temperature and dry conditions, they often seal the shell aperture and hide in moist soil crevices or under stems and leaves, waiting until conditions are suitable, such as after rain or irrigation, to come out and feed in the evening or morning. In mid-to-late November, overwintering begins again.
Control methods
1. Handpick in the early morning or on cloudy and rainy days, and kill them in a centralized manner.
2. Broadcast 3 kg of tea seed cake powder, or soak 1 to 1.5 kg of tea seed cake powder in 100 kg of water for 24 hours, then take the filtrate and spray it; you can also spray with 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution.
3. Use 1.5 to 2 kg of 8% miewo ling granules per mu, crush them and mix with 5 to 7 kg of fine soil or cake crumbs, and in warm weather on a dry soil surface in the evening scatter the mixture between the rows near the roots of the affected plants. After 2 to 3 days, the snails that contact the pesticide secrete large amounts of mucus and die. The suitable period for control is before the snails lay eggs; applying it once more when small snails are present in the field gives a better effect.