In order to protect the apple tree in a timely manner from various diseases and pests, one should know by what symptoms to recognize the “enemy”, as well as what measures to use in order to save the tree. In this case, it is necessary to provide him with proper care. The article discusses the diseases of apple trees and ways to combat them.
Fungal diseases
Fungal diseases in apple trees occur when a plant is affected by spore pathogens or phytopathogenic microorganisms. Because of them, the mycelium and spore conidia grow in the body of the plant. There are several of the most common fungal diseases.
Powdery mildew
The disease leads to the fact that the bark, leaves, buds, shoots are affected. A dark white coating appears in the areas, later acquiring a brownish tint. Leaves turn yellow, dry, then fall off. New shoots do not appear, fruiting ceases.
In the spring, carry out preventive measures. Before flowering, spray the plant with a solution of fungicides at the rate of 2 ml per 10 l of water. It is recommended to use Topaz or Skor. After flowering, treat with a solution of copper oxychloride (40 g per 10 l of water) or Hom in the same ratio. In the autumn, spray the apple tree with Bordeaux liquid 1%. No less effective is such a spray agent: 10 l of water, 50 g of copper sulfate, 20 g of liquid soap.
Scab
The main symptom of scab is the presence of an olive-brown coating on the leaves of the plant - they begin to crumble. Then cracks appear on the fruit, spots of a dark gray hue.
For treatment, spray with biofungicides (Gamair, Fitosporin-M, Horus, Fitolavin). The first treatment is carried out before the buds open. For the entire season, spend 2-4 sprays with an interval of 2 weeks. An effective method for combating scab is considered to be spraying with Bordeaux liquid. Spend 2 treatments:
- Before budding. Use a 3% solution.
- After the appearance of leaves. For processing, use a solution of 1% concentration.
The interval between sprayings is 2 weeks. Spend up to seven treatments per season.
It is recommended to carry out additional work, these include cutting of dry branches, cleaning of the affected bark, bleaching of the treated areas.
Rust
When rust on the leaves, stripes are formed, spots are brown in color, black spots are visible on them - clusters of spores. In the future, the fungus begins to spread to branches, fruits, bark. Most of the young shoots die. In the places of defeat, the bark is cracked, unripe fruits fall off.
Begin treatment in early spring, before budding. Get rid of the affected leaves. Shorten the branches 10 cm below the diseased areas. Disinfect the sections with a 5% solution of copper sulfate, then treat the plants using Bordeaux 1%. Spend three sprays with an interval of three weeks.
Brown spotting (phylostictosis)
The manifestation of phylostictosis is accompanied by small brown spots with a dark brown rim on the leaves. In the center are visible spores of fungi - black dots. Spots can cover the entire surface of the sheet plate.
For prevention (in the spring before flowering) spray trees with Bordeaux liquid 3-4%. After flowering, treat with the same solution at a concentration of 1%. Perform the third treatment 3 weeks before harvesting. Begin treatment in the fall: get rid of fallen leaves, dig around the tree trunks, cut the crown, spray the plants with 5% urea solution, and treat the soil with 7%.
Cytosporosis
With cytosporosis, the cortex is affected - dark ulcers appear on it. Subsequently, they penetrate the trunk, become larger, acquire a brown-red hue. Gradually the bark and branches die off.
The treatment consists of three treatments in the spring:
- During kidney swelling, use fungicide Hom at the rate of 40 g per 10 liters of water.
- Before flowering, spray the tree with a solution of copper sulfate - for 10 l of water 50 g.
- After flowering, repeat the first treatment.
At the end of autumn, remove the affected branches and burn them. Strip wounds by removing up to 2 cm of healthy tissue. Disinfect the sections with 3% copper sulfate, treat the tree branches with lime. Add fertilizing, preferably mineral fertilizers (potash or phosphorus).
Black cancer
Black cancer is a serious fungal disease, during which black spots form on the leaves and black rot appears on the fruits. In addition, the bark darkens, cracks appear on its surface, due to which it begins to turn inside out.
Start treatment in the spring, when the air temperature reaches +15 degrees or more. Use a sharp knife to remove the affected areas, grab about 1.5-2 cm of healthy bark. Disinfect wounds with copper sulfate 1-2%, grease with garden var. After flowering, spray the plant with Bordeaux liquid 1%. If the disease reappears after 1-2 years, cut down and burn the tree.
Fruit rot (moniliosis)
Fruit rot is dangerous because ripening fruits suffer from brown spots located on the surface. In the future, spots become larger, due to which the taste of the fruit is lost. A rapid spread of the disease occurs, which spoils the entire crop. It is almost impossible to identify the disease at the initial stage.
If the tree is sick for a long time, it can not be cured. You can prevent the disease by applying preventive measures: in early spring, treat the plant with Bordeaux liquid 3%, fungicides. The second treatment is carried out before flowering, using Bordeaux liquid 1%. After harvesting, spray the tree with a solution of copper sulfate at the rate of 100 g per 10 liters of water. Each plant takes about 3 liters of solution. Get rid of the affected fruit.
Milky shine
This is a disease that causes plant bark. The first symptoms appear on the foliage. Leaves begin to turn yellow, stripes of white-silver color are visible on their surface. This leads to shedding of foliage. The disease continues to progress - dark spots appear on the cortex.
For treatment, remove the diseased areas of the tree bark, then treat the sections with a solution of copper sulfate 1% and garden var. Spray the tree with Bordeaux liquid 1%. Perform two treatments in the spring before and after flowering.
Bacterial diseases
The causative agent of bacterial diseases is a unicellular microorganism. All lesions by bacteria are called bacterioses. Apple trees are often exposed to such diseases.
Bacterial burn (bacteriosis, necrosis)
A bacterial burn occurs due to special gram-negative sticks that affect both young and adult plants. Often the infection is brought in with newly purchased planting material. Favorable conditions for the development of the disease are heat and warm rains. Due to bacteriosis, the tree loses its basic shade, dark spots appear on the plant, the leaves darken and begin to curl, the fruits look dark and unnatural.
To prevent infection, carefully inspect new seedlings. Take action against pests and parasites that cause disease. Water the soil with copper sulfate at the rate of 60 g per bucket of water. In the autumn, remove diseased branches so that the cut site is 20 cm below the site of infection. Sanitize. In the growing season, spray apple trees with Bordeaux liquid - this increases the resistance to the disease.
Bacterial root cancer
The cause of the development of bacterial root cancer is the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens stevens, which penetrates the roots of the tree through wounds. After a couple of months, many growths appear on the roots, starting to rot, secreting a large number of bacteria. With the development of the disease, the plant usually dies.
Bacterial root cancer is almost incurable, but in the early stages there is an opportunity to get rid of the disease. Disinfect the soil using a weak formalin solution at the rate of 1 liter per 100 liters of water. Apply the solution to the soil in the fall on warm, dry days. For 1 square. m takes about 20 liters of solution. Instead, you can use bleach - per 1 sq. Km. m area, add 200 g of the product, and then level the soil with a rake.
Viral diseases of apple trees
The causative agents of viral diseases are usually the smallest particles of living protein - they parasitize on the cells of the plant, because of which it begins to lose its ability to grow and can die.
Mosaic
Mosaicism is a common disease that an apple tree undergoes. On one tree, the disease can manifest itself less and be accompanied by a faint yellow-green mosaic, on another plant there is a bright yellow mosaic pattern on the leaves. In summer, determining the mosaic is almost impossible. With the disease, the leaves become smaller, as if they lack nutrition, the fruits also become small, lose their taste, the plant itself looks weakened, depleted.
For treatment, try to ensure spatial isolation between new seedlings and old, diseased gardens. Use healthy planting material. Effectively limiting the disease by thermotherapy of plants at a temperature of 37-38 degrees for a month, followed by regeneration of the apex. If you are ill at a late stage, dig a tree and burn it.
Star cracking fruit
It is still unknown which pathogen affects the spread of the disease. The harmfulness of the virus is high, when infected in plants, the yield is greatly reduced, the fruits lose their attractiveness, their weight decreases significantly. Usually, the disease manifests itself on young, not yet ripened fruits - shapeless spots form on them, and in their center there are cracks that are inherent in a stellate shape. The peel near the cracks becomes dark brown, almost black. The leaves on the upper branches become lighter.
To combat the disease, dig and destroy the plant. As preventive measures, it is desirable to use healthy planting material, to treat the plant from pests - they can be carriers of the disease. Remove weeds in a timely manner, treat the apple tree with special preparations every spring.
Panicle (proliferation)
Plants suffer from this disease in the second half of summer - thin lateral shoots and even root shoots from sleeping buds are exposed. The overgrown stipules become large, the young shoots acquire a red tint, the leaves turn yellow and fall prematurely, the fruits seem immature. The root system is not able to cope with excessive growth, which is why the plant's life cycle ends before the seed formation phase.
Paniculata cannot be treated. You need to root out the plants and burn them as soon as possible. For prevention, experienced gardeners recommend spraying plants to protect them from sucking pests, they are carriers of viruses.
Rosette (small leaf)
Rosette - a viral disease, during which the leaves become smaller, become stiff, acquire a yellow-green hue, are deformed. The edges of the leaves are twisted, and the plates themselves become cup-shaped. A diseased apple tree bears fruit, but the fruits become small, lose their apple taste. Everywhere, internodes of shoots are greatly shortened, rosettes of leaves appear on the tops - healthy and deformed.
For treatment, it is necessary to timely remove and destroy parts of the plant on which there are signs of the disease. Treat the slices with oil paint by mixing it with zinc sulfate. If the disease has passed to the last stage of development, use the same solution at a concentration of 5%, with moderate lesions - an 8% solution. If many parts of the plant are affected, use a 12% solution. For prevention, it is advisable to apply top dressing in the spring and remove weeds in a timely manner.
Wood furrow
The causative agent of the disease is the Apple stem grooving virus. In the place where the scion grows together with the stock, wide strips of furrow, dimple, separate brown necrotic spots or necrotic lines are formed. The bark of the stem begins to swell, scars and dark spots or brown lines with a dark shade appear on it. Infected plants prematurely produce fruits that are bright red. Shoots grow slowly. Usually a tree dies.
There is no cure for the disease. Gardeners recommend that you do not waste time and do not wait until other plants become ill. You just need to uproot the tree and burn it.
Other diseases
Often, apple trees suffer from poor care, mechanical and thermal damage. The plant may be attacked by insects. It is important to know what to do in such situations in order to preserve the plant and get a good harvest.
Tree damage
A tree may be damaged by rodents, break as a result of natural disasters, or branches will begin to break due to improper crown formation.
To prevent rodent attacks, prepare a mat of branches or shrubs, wrap them around the central trunk and lower branches. Acceptable use of corn "shields", reeds, spruce branches. The main thing is to remove the protection after the frost.
Since pests can hibernate under the cover material, when heat develops, remove and burn their accumulations. Coat minor damage to the trunk with a garden var. Typically, small teeth marks disappear by the end of summer. Cut the broken branches under the base, apply a garden var or a mixture of ordinary yellow clay with mullein in a 1: 1 ratio.
Excess or lack of moisture
If you manage to organize watering correctly, the tree will grow and develop normally. Apple trees do not like both a lack and an excess of moisture. The bulk of the water "comes" from the soil through the root system. But at the same time, in dry and hot weather, you must regularly water the plant. A lack of moisture can cause the tree to age, which will negatively affect the yield. Fruiting will be irregular, and ripened fruits will not only lose their presentation, but also taste.
Excess moisture can adversely affect the immunity of the tree, the plant can undergo various diseases. If moisture is not absorbed into the soil and the water stagnates, there is a risk of rotting of the root system.
Thermal damage
Thermal damage is often caused by exposure to low temperatures. Severe frosts can harm branches, bark, and even the root system. Not less dangerous for the plant are not only sunny, but also frosty days. The bark warms up, sap flow begins in it, but when dusk sets in, the temperature drops low, the cambium freezes. This leads to the formation of cracks in the bark of the fruit tree.
If frost occurs in the spring, when the formation of buds and leaves, the plant may stop bearing fruit or even die. To avoid this, cover the apple tree for the winter using fir spruce branches or covering material. If the summer is hot and the temperatures are high, it can negatively appear on the leaves and bark. Be sure to water the tree, especially in this case, sprinkling the crown and trunk.
Parasitic insects
Apple trees very often become a “delicacy” for various insect pests. They can cause severe damage to the leaves, flowers and fruits of the tree.The most dangerous insects are the apple bee-eater, ticks, goose, aphid, bark beetle, fruit moth, apple moth.
To combat parasites, the use of modern insecticides is recommended - they cope well with insects. The main thing is to start processing the plant in a timely manner.
Poor care
If the plant is poorly looked after, it can be badly damaged. Not only water the tree well, but also provide it with the right diet. Fruit plant needs trace elements. With a shortage of such trace elements, the following disadvantages appear:
- Manganese. The leaves become variegated, their veins are clearly visible.
- Nitrogen. The tree grows slowly, the leaves become pale.
- Copper. Brown spots appear on the leaves.
- Phosphorus. Shoots and petioles turn red.
- Bor. The fruit ovary cannot fully develop.
- Potassium. Leaves turn brown.
With an excess of nitrogen, the branches and the crown grow actively, but the fruiting weakens. For this reason, limit the application of nitrogen during the ripening period. In this case, it is recommended to increase the application of phosphorus and potash fertilizers.
An apple tree is a fruit plant that can undergo various diseases. To prevent the disease in time or cure the tree, you need to know the symptoms and treatment methods. Only proper care, regular watering, fertilizing and preventative measures will help protect the tree from the disease.
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Ukraine. City: Kryvyi Rih
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