Apple trees are one of the most unpretentious fruit trees. They can be successfully grown both in the sunny southern regions of Russia and in the northern ones, where frosts reach -25 ° C and lower. A noble crop, these fruit crops generously thank gardeners for their diligent care. If carried out regularly and competently, apple diseases rarely visit the garden. The use of the right techniques of agricultural technology is a kind of protective armor for apple trees, which does not allow them to go on with variegated parasitic organisms living in large numbers in the environment. If they still managed to hit the tree, correct and timely actions quickly block the source of infection and eliminate it, without waiting for the consequences. This article offers descriptions of apple tree diseases with photos and ways to get rid of them, as well as provides information on how to care for this crop so that diseases bypass the garden.
What problems do apple trees have?
Trees, like people, suffer from various microscopic, visible to the eye and invisible parasites that cause many diseases. In particular, apple trees can affect:
- Bacteria.
- Mushrooms.
- Viruses.
- Insects.
Another reason apple trees are ill is irregular agricultural technology. At the same time, the tree always does not look as lush and beautiful, as expected, gives a small crop, drops foliage early, is easily exposed to diseases, lives a little.
Soil preparation
Microbes that cause the most dangerous diseases of apple trees infect the tree in different ways. This can happen already at the time of planting a seedling, if there is damage on its roots. The fact is that dozens of pathogenic viruses and bacteria live in the soil. To prevent the young tree from getting sick, some gardeners recommend disinfecting the ground into which the seedling is placed.
There are several ways to treat the soil. If you only plan to plant an apple orchard, a year earlier, it is recommended to sow mustard (30 kg per hectare) in the selected area in the spring. In the summer, already quite grown plants are plowed into the ground and mustard and calendula are again sown almost immediately. New plants smell in the fall. This method will not only help to kill many harmful microorganisms in the earth and get rid of the larvae of dangerous nematodes, but it will also become an excellent bio-fertilizer.
Effective preventive treatment of apple trees from diseases consists in some manipulations with the seedling root. It must be carefully inspected for any damage before landing. It can be incomprehensible growths, broken parts, traces of various tools, suspiciously soft fragments, and so on. All doubtful parts need to be removed. Experienced gardeners recommend placing the seedling root for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then for a day in water, where to add “Kornevin” or “Heteroauksin”.
Other methods of infection
The most productive and inevitable way to transmit the infection is the paws of insects. In parasites, you can try to discourage a visit to the apple tree. But what about bees? If they are not allowed into the blooming garden, then there will be no harvest. Unfortunately, these insect workers are also able to transport viruses and bacteria on their paws and abdomen. Carriers can also be birds. If there are trees affected by microbes in the area, the likelihood that your apple trees will fall ill is very high. A bacterial burn is especially dangerous in this regard. Cases were recorded when he was forced to cut down many hectares of gardens under the root.
It is not possible to prevent the transfer of microscopic pests by insects. And diseases of apple trees because of this, unfortunately, can not be avoided. In order to resist their development, you need to choose apple tree varieties that are resistant to them, correctly carry out agricultural technology, and feed the trees on time. If they are strong and healthy, it is much easier to deal with an ailment that has occurred.
Mushroom spores can also move from a diseased plant to a healthy one using insects. In addition, they can travel through water (for example, during heavy rains) and through the air. Spores are very light, almost weightless. The wind picks them up and carries them from the source of infection for hundreds of meters.
Below we will provide a description of the diseases of apple trees with photos and tell you how to deal with them.
European Cancer (Common)
This ailment causes the fungus Neonectria galligena. A characteristic feature is brown spots that appear on the cortex. Soon they begin to crack, exposing ulcers that are framed by a protruding callus layer.
After a couple of years, the ulcers deepen, and the wood in these places dies. This manifestation of apple disease is clearly visible in the photo. If European cancer affects a young apple tree, it can die in 3 years. If the disease manifests itself in large quantities, then ulcers are noticeable on skeletal branches. Spores begin to develop along their edges, the clusters of which look like creamy pads, somewhat moist to the touch. Drying, they darken and become rough. Mature spores infect neighboring parts of the tree, including leaves. They become covered with brown spots, gradually dry up, fall off. Fruits, if they could be tied, are also covered with brown spots localized at the stalk. Such apples quickly rot.
Black cancer
Called by the fungus Sphaeropsis malorum Berck, which penetrates the wood through various cracks and wounds. It manifests mainly in the forks of large branches.
First, brownish depressed spots appear on the cortex, which soon darken. Black pycnids (fruiting bodies of mushrooms) are formed in their place or nearby. The bark of an apple tree begins to resemble goose bumps. It turns black, bumps, cracks, dries and falls off. The spores of the fungus also affect the fruits and leaves. Brown spots resembling black rot can be seen on them. Young apple trees affected by black cancer do not live longer than 2 years. You can fight for the old. The disease can spread rapidly to neighboring trees (not just apple trees).
Treatment methods
Cancer can infect any tree that has mechanical damage on its bark and / or branches. Remember - this is an open gate for spores of the fungus.
This disease of apple trees is very difficult to treat. It is advisable to remove all diseased branches with their subsequent burning. The place of cut or saw must be treated with copper sulphate and painted with oil paint. The same can be done with ulcers, if they are located on large branches that are not subject to pruning.
Prevention is planned pruning, removing all residues in the fall, gardening covering all cracks on the bark (they may appear after winter due to temperature changes or damage to the tree with hares). Another effective preventive method that will help protect against the disease is to treat apple trees in the spring by generously spraying with a Bordeaux mixture. It must be carried out in the spring when there are no leaves on the tree. In autumn, when the leaves have already fallen, you can repeat the treatment. She will not be superfluous.
Cytosporosis (or drying out of the cortex)
Several fungi initiate this disease at once: Cytospora schulzeri Sacc. et Syd., C. carphosperma Fr. and C. microspora Roberh. The last parasite infects and pears. This disease can be brought into the garden with poor-quality seedlings, so when buying them you need to carefully inspect for any possible damage. It manifests cytosporosis by the appearance of brown spots on the cortex. Over time, gray-brown tubercles (stroma) form in these places, which soon break through. Affected areas of the bark dry out, but remain on the tree. The fungus penetrates the cambium, causing the branches to dry out.
Mechanical and thermal (burns) lesions of the bark of apple trees contribute to cytosporosis infection.
Control measures consist of cutting sick branches and burning them, as well as treating the tree with copper sulfate (Bordeaux liquid) at the time of bud opening, before flowering, after it and in autumn. With cytosporosis, feeding the apple with phosphorus and potassium is very important.
Root rot
The causative agent of the disease is Armillaria mellea fungus. This ailment is popularly called the apple honey. The parasite grows on the stumps and roots of apple trees (living). In wood, it forms numerous black thread rhizomorphs, thanks to which it spreads over large areas. On the surface you can see yellow-brown hats with legs. These are the fruit bodies of the fungus. Having settled in the apple tree, it causes rotting of the wood and the death of the tree.
Control measures are the same as for apple cancer. That is, you need to treat the apple trees from the disease with Bordeaux mixture by spraying the tree, remove and burn diseased branches. Also, any fungicide containing copper should be cast under the tree.
Scab
It is caused by the fungus Venturia inaegualis Wint. Spores of the fungus initially infect the leaves, later infect the fruits and young shoots. Brown velvety spots begin to appear on the leaf plates from the upper side. At the beginning of the growing season they are larger, but if the infection occurred from the second half of the summer, they turn out to be smaller, barely noticeable. Below is a photograph of an apple tree disease that shows a diseased leaf. Fruits affected by scab are unfit for consumption. The development of the fungus is facilitated by wet rainy days, low temperatures for the growing season.
Control measures consist of spraying trees with a Bordeaux mixture (3%), after flowering again with a Bordeaux mixture (1%), 21 days after flowering. Preparations: “Skor”, “Abiga-Peak”, Bordeaux liquid, “Rayek”, “Ditan”, “Horus”.
Powdery mildew
This is perhaps the most common disease that affects all plants. On the apple tree, it is caused by the fungus Podosphaera leucotricha Salm. This disease of an apple tree is familiar to both gardeners and gardeners, because on any plant its main symptom is a grayish-white bloom. Under appropriate conditions (wet spring, planting density), it may appear on leaves and inflorescences of apple trees in May. The fungus quickly spreads to growing shoots. At the same time, the leaves curl, dry and fall, the shoots are deformed, the ovaries fall. If the infection occurred at a later stage of the growing season, a friable brown-red mesh appears on the apples. The mushroom hibernates in the kidneys and cortex and begins to develop with the first warm days.
It is necessary to treat apple trees in the spring from a disease known to the people as powdery mildew. Before the growing season, the trees are sprayed with a solution of colloidal sulfur (80 g per bucket of water), during the flowering period with “Topaz”, “Skor”, “Quadris”, “Gamair”. After flowering, they are again sprayed with copper oxychloride, and in autumn with copper sulfate. You can also use liquid soap.
Rust
It is caused by the fungus Gymnosporangium tremelloides Hartig. Mostly the leaves are affected, but sometimes rust can be observed on the fruits and shoots. The manifestation of the disease is very recognizable - bright orange spots with black dots appear on the upper side of the leaf plate, and orange etia (spore groups) appear on the lower side. Over time, they darken. The mushroom of rust lives on the Cossack juniper, which is why these trees can not be planted near the apple orchard.
Control measures consist in processing the apple tree with anti-rust preparations: “HOM”, Bordeaux mixture, “Abiga-Peak” and others.
Spotting
They are caused by a number of parasitic fungi. Spotting are: brown, ascochitic, variegated. They differ in the color of the spots formed on the leaves and fruits (yellowish, brown, grayish, with bordering and without). Sick leaves fall prematurely, as a result of which the tree does not fully receive the substances it needs. Frost resistance and disease resistance are falling.
Control measures consist of spraying apple trees before and after flowering with Bordeaux liquid (1%) or analogues. The Nitrofen insecticide, which needs to be treated with apple trees in spring, is excellent. This drug protects perfectly against pests and diseases. It kills not only mushrooms of spotting, rust, curly, but also insect eggs. You need to use a 3% solution.
Moniliosis
Two mushrooms excite it - Monilia cinerea and Monilia fructigena. They infect mainly seedlings and young branches of apple trees. The first mushroom causes the drying of twigs, flowers, ovaries. The second provokes rotting fruits. Most often, rot is found at the places where the apple moth is introduced into the fruit . On a rotting fragment, grayish dots located in circles are clearly visible. Disputes ripen in them. Infected apples turn black, mummify, but do not fall, remaining on the tree until spring.
Control measures consist in processing the apple tree from diseases and pests, which contribute to the penetration of fungal spores into the fruit. In autumn, trees need to be sprayed with copper sulfate (1%). It destroys parasites prepared for wintering. A good result is whitewashing trunks. Also, the tree can be sprayed at the time of flowering.
Bacterial cancer
This disease of apple trees is caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae van Hall. External signs resemble a normal burn. On a diseased tree, buds and bark of branches turn brown, young shoots and leaves turn black. The infected bark swells. Swellings (barrels) appear on the branches. Cherry fringing spots may be observed on them. The wood begins to rot, exuding the smell of fermented apple juice. A tree usually dies.
This disease has a chronic form in which ulcers oozing gum form on the branches. It gathers millions of bacteria, which, with the help of insects and wind, are transferred to other trees. Microbes are also found in wood cells. Therefore, they can be spread with the help of tools, for example, secateurs. To prevent this from happening, the instrument must be decontaminated with alcohol or formaldehyde.
Bacterial burn
The bacterium Eewinia amylovora causes this disease. External signs are much like bacterial cancer, but there are differences. With a tank. a burn on the leaf blade appears necrotic spots of red-brown color, which extend to the entire sheet. Young shoots darken (as if burnt), bend and dry. The same is observed with inflorescences and ovaries. Cracks appear on the branches and bark, from which a whitish-yellow gum oozes. Over time, it darkens and hardens. Microbes are carried with the help of insects, birds, wind.
Bacterial disease treatment
Bacteria live in the vascular system of the apple tree, so it is very difficult to save a diseased tree. Processing of the apple tree from diseases caused by bacteria should be carried out from 6 to 8 times with a break of 1 week. You can try to compete for the apple tree with the help of the usual human antibiotics Tetracycline, Ampicillin, Streptomycin. They need to be diluted in water (10 tablets per bucket) and sprayed on the tree leaves and bark once every two weeks, alternating antibiotics with the drug "Skor" or "Acrobat". After the end of treatment, it is necessary to plant healthy bacteria on the tree, for which purpose it is necessary to spray the leaves with Fitosporin or its analogue.
Noncommunicable diseases
These ailments in themselves are not dangerous, but they weaken the tree, reduce its resistance to more serious ailments, and reduce productivity. Apple trees can infect such diseases:
- Chlorosis. It is manifested by clarification of the leaf blade between the veins. This is caused by a lack of nutrients. Chlorosis can also be an indicator that the roots of the apple tree have problems (decay, drying out, damage by insects or small rodents, for example, mole).
Control measures. Few people dig an apple tree from the earth, especially an elderly one, to examine the state of its root system. More often, gardeners systematize the application of fertilizing. If after this the leaves continue to remain light, you need to try to treat the roots by watering the apple tree with copper-containing preparations, a solution of potassium permanganate (bright raspberry).
- Lichens and mosses. These plants settle on the trunks and branches of apple trees, if there are favorable conditions for them (high humidity, low air access, weakened plants). Mosses and lichens themselves do not kill the apple tree, but they retain moisture, which freezes in winter and causes cracking of the bark. They are also a favorable place for the development of all kinds of fungi and microbes.
Control measures: lichens and mosses should be regularly cleaned with a brush or other tools that do not violate the integrity of the apple bark. In autumn, the tree must be sprayed with iron sulfate.
- Injuries on the bark and branches. These can occur due to pruning, strong wind. Some birds, such as woodpeckers, as well as hares, destroy the bark. All mechanical damage should be treated with copper sulphate (1%) and painted with paint with drying oil or garden var.
Pests and diseases of apple trees
These small creatures do great damage to both the crop and the entire garden. Some insects gnaw only leaves, others wood, others still at the flowering stage climb into the ovary and eat ripe fruits, and the fourth are omnivores. On apple trees parasitize:
- Snails.
- Apple tick.
- The honeypot is apple-tree.
- Aphid.
- Penny drooling.
- Cicadas.
- The scutellum is comma-shaped.
- Wood bug.
- Grass bug.
- Chafer (chafer).
- Silky chipper.
- Nutcracker Beetles.
- Apple Blossom.
- Geese.
- Alfalfa mowing.
- Weevil beetles.
- Golden flea.
- Fruit barbel.
- Marble Violinist.
- The nutcracker is smooth.
- Apple moth.
- The moth is twilight.
- Corydalis humpbacked.
- Leafworm.
As you can see, the list is extensive. To treat apple trees in the spring from diseases and insect pests can be different means, which depends on the characteristics of the parasites. So, some lovers of apple leaves (snails, gherkins) can be collected manually.
Many gardeners practice folk methods consisting in spraying the crown of an apple tree with infusions of tobacco, walnut leaves, wormwood. It should be borne in mind that such drugs only repel insects, but do not eliminate them.
They fight aphids by spraying the affected areas with solutions of soap, kefir, vinegar.
The following method is used against grapes whose larvae gnaw at the roots: after retreating the apple tree about 1 meter from the trunk, make holes in the ground with a sharp stick of 60-80 cm deep. Ammonia is poured into them, the smell of which forces the larvae to move to another place.
Appropriate insecticides are used to kill or deter other insects. Drugs of choice: Karbofos, Fufanon, Kemifos, Actellik, Intra-Vir, Iskra, Kinmiks. In stores that offer products for the garden, you can find a fairly wide range of such products.
Prevention
Processing apple trees from pests and diseases is very necessary. But the role of prevention in maintaining the garden in excellent condition is difficult to overestimate. It consists in the proper care of apple trees, which includes:
- Selection of disease resistant varieties.
- Inspection of seedlings for damage to the roots, branches or bark. Seedlings with leaves almost do not take root, so it is better not to buy such.
- Landing in compliance with all agricultural requirements.
- Timely feeding of apple trees.
- Spring pruning.
- Whitewashing trunks with slaked lime solution (2 kg per bucket of water) with copper-containing preparations (copper sulfate is taken 300 g). Her color should be a faint blue. You can add a little wallpaper glue to the mixture so that it stays on the tree longer. Perform the procedure in spring and autumn.
- Harvesting all fallen leaves and fruit remaining on the tree.
- Weeding (parasitic microorganisms and insects often breed on weeds).
- Timely processing of mechanical damage to the cortex.
- Spraying with fungicides and / or insecticides. A good result gives the Bordeaux mixture. It is necessary to apply it in the spring, until the buds begin to open, and in the fall after leaf fall. If you use this drug in the summer, its concentration should be made weak (1%) so as not to burn the leaves.
Choosing how to treat apple trees from diseases and pests, it is necessary to be guided by the scale of infection (one branch or the whole tree), the type of parasite that caused the disease, the vegetation stage, during which the tree will be sprayed. By following these rules, you can protect your apple trees.