Almost every garden has an apple tree. Any summer resident knows that a tree needs special care, otherwise you will not see good yields. Unfortunately, apple trees are more prone to disease than other crops.
Preventive treatments do not always help and the tree still gets sick. You need to start treatment immediately, but for this you need to figure out what kind of ailment you have to face.
What causes apple diseases: general characteristics and methods of control
Before starting treatment, you need to understand what caused the disease. All types of diseases on apple trees can be divided into three groups:
• fungal;
• bacterial;
• cancerous.
The treatment for these diseases is significantly different. But no matter what ailment the tree struck, it is necessary to remove all the diseased parts of the plant in time: leaves, bark, branches and burn all the garbage. This will stop the spread of the disease to healthy parts of the tree.
Fungal Disease Treatment begins with spraying the crown and tree trunk circle with organic and chemical preparations. The most effective are Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate and colloidal sulfur. You can prepare a solution for processing according to the following recipes:
• Bordeaux liquid 3%. For 10 liters of water you will need 300 g of copper sulfate and 300 g of lime.
• Solution of copper sulfate. 2 liters of water take 2 tbsp. l copper sulfate and 1 tbsp. l liquid soap without flavoring. You can rub laundry soap.
• Sulfur solution. Dilute 80 g of colloidal sulfur (concentration 70%) in 10 l of water.
Spraying is carried out at the first sign of a disease. However, Bordeaux liquid 3% is used only in spring and autumn. In the summer, trees are sprayed with a 1% solution. For its preparation, the number of drugs is reduced.
Bacterial and cancerous diseases are very difficult to cure.. Even if the disease recedes, then shoots from it are no longer used for cuttings. In some cases, treatment does not produce results and a seedling has to be uprooted. To protect the garden from insidious diseases, use only healthy planting material from proven nurseries. Always sanitize tools before and after work, otherwise the rice infecting a healthy tree will increase.
Fungal diseases of apple trees: description, photos and methods of control
Most often, trees in the garden are affected by fungal diseases that can be prevented by preventative treatments.
• scab;
• powdery mildew;
• cytosporosis;
• moniliosis.
Next, we will talk in detail about each of these ailments.
Scab on the apple: symptoms and struggle
It is important to understand that trees in high humidity are affected by scab, especially in the spring. If there is too much rainfall, then you should not wait for the ailment to appear, immediately proceed to preventative treatments.
Another cause of infection is the thickened crown of the tree. Thin out the crown in time, cut branches growing inward.
Recognizing the disease is simple. The scab begins on the leaves, after which it passes to the fruits. The pathogen is carried by the wind.
Symptoms of the disease:
1. The leaves are covered with brown spots, which eventually acquire an olive color.
2. Spots pass to the fruits, at first they are small. With the growth of fruits, spots increase in size, merge. Apples crack and rot.
Disease prevention is carried out in autumn and early spring. The tree is well sprayed with a urea solution. After the crop is started, treatment is done with copper chloride. The solution is prepared from 40 g of the drug and 10 l of water.
If the disease has already begun, then the crown is treated with Bordeaux fluid. In advanced cases, a solution of phytosporin or the drug "Chorus" is used.
Advice! As a preventive measure, foliar top dressing with mineral fertilizers has proven itself well.
Powdery mildew: description and photo
Powdery mildew affects young leaves and inflorescences, after which it spreads throughout the tree. The cause of the disease is high humidity and low temperature, especially at night.
Symptoms
1. Young leaves and inflorescences are covered with a white felt coating, which changes color over time and becomes brown or brown.
2. The leaves on the apple tree gradually turn yellow and dry, fall off.
3. The barrel is covered with black dots.
Treatment should be started immediately, since in the last stages it is difficult to notice the disease. Without treatment, most of the crop suffers, and the winter hardiness of the plant decreases.
Preventive treatment begins in early spring, as soon as the kidneys swell, which is very important. Bordeaux fluid, colloidal sulfur or a solution of copper sulfate is used. After that, spraying is carried out 2-3 more times, the interval between treatments is 3 weeks.
At the first signs of the disease, fungicides are sprayed: "Skor" or "Topaz". Treatments are carried out 4 times a season.
Powdery mildew is very insidious, therefore, after the disease, the tree should be inspected regularly and, if necessary, repeat the course of preventive procedures.
Cytosporosis: symptoms and treatment
The disease affects the bark of a tree and progresses rapidly. It occurs mainly on poor and too heavy soils as a result of poor maintenance and improper watering.
Symptoms
1. Dark ulcers appear in some areas of the cortex, after which they increase in size and become red-brown.
2. The affected area of the cortex dies along with a nearby branch.
To stop the disease, all affected areas need to be cut, the bark should be cleaned well. If this measure is neglected, then cytosporosis will destroy the tree from the inside.
As a preventative measure, whitewashing of the trunks is carried out in spring and autumn, the crown is sprayed with copper sulfate.
Advice! Do not forget to feed the apple tree with mineral fertilizers, improve the composition of the soil, and the disease will not appear on your site.
Moniliosis: description and methods of treatment
The disease appears during the ripening of the crop and affects the fruits.
Symptoms
1. Apples are covered with brown spots.
2. Fruits are completely affected by rot, the disease captures healthy apples.
At the first signs of the disease, all affected fruits are removed, the tree trunk circle is dug up. Be sure to remove the scavenger - this is the source of infection.
As a prophylaxis of the disease, in the spring, a beard is sprayed with 3% liquid as soon as the kidneys open. During the growing season, the treatment is done with a 1% solution with an interval of 15 days.
Bacterial diseases of apple trees: photos, symptoms and prevention
Bacterial diseases are very dangerous, without treatment, the tree can die in a short time.
Bacterial burn
Infection affects all organs of the plant, especially young shoots and leaves. Without treatment, after 30 days, the seedling dies. The disease begins in early spring. Warm and humid weather contributes to the spread of infection. The first signs of the disease are clearly visible after flowering.
Symptoms
1. Sick flowers are watery, fade and fall.
2. Fruits are covered with oily black-brown spots, stop developing.
3. The tree looks burnt.
Treatment of a bacterial burn does not give results, you will have to get rid of the seedling. Carefully monitor the condition of the tree during the growing season, take all necessary care measures.
Rust: symptoms and treatments
The infection affects the leaves of the apple tree and rarely the fruit. It develops mainly in July, the tree stops developing, dries, early leaf fall occurs. Productivity is sharply reduced.
Symptoms
1. Black dots are visible on the upper side of the leaves.
2. The underside is covered with nipple growths.
All affected leaves and fruits must be removed. If a tree branch is affected, then it is removed along with a piece of healthy tissue. A diseased tree is treated with 1% Bordeaux fluid every 10 days.
As a prophylaxis in the spring, before the buds begin to bloom, clean all old wounds, treat with copper sulfate and cover with garden var.
Advice! Do not grow juniper in the garden. This plant contributes to the spread of infection. If it was growing, then dig it and dig a lot deeply.
Cancer diseases of apple trees: description, photos and treatment methods
Cancerous diseases are very dangerous, they affect all the organs of the tree, rapidly progressing, poorly treatable.
Black cancer
The disease affects trees older than 20 years, young seedlings are not susceptible to the disease. Wet weather in the spring contributes to the spread of the disease. Even after the tree has recovered, there is no certainty that the disease will not return again. Black cancer returns even after a few years.
Symptoms
1. Leaves are covered with black spots.
2. The fruits turn black and disappear.
3. The bark cracks and swells.
As a prophylaxis, whitewashing of the tables is carried out twice a year. If the disease is taken by surprise, then all affected fruits, shoots and bark areas are removed. They clean wounds, treat them with copper sulphate and gloss over.
Root cancer of the apple tree
The disease forms on the roots of the plant. Gets through wounds and cracks.
Symptoms
1. Hard growths form on the roots.
2. The root system ceases to develop normally, the central root is affected by cancer.
The treatment is very complicated. All growths on the roots must be cut off, after which the seedling in a solution of copper sulfate should be disinfected.
The disease is very insidious, since getting into the soil, cancer cells live there for many years and are waiting in the wings. Carefully choose seedlings, prepare the soil well for planting.
This is not all the diseases of apple trees that gardeners face. Carefully monitor the trees in the garden, do not neglect the prevention and properly care for the seedlings.
