Content
Pine diseases and their treatment is a topic that interests all lovers of beautiful and useful pine trees. Dozens of ailments and pests can affect common pine, so it is important to know the main alarming symptoms and treatment methods for the plant.
Pine pests and control
Common pine can be affected by many pests - some of them are characteristic of this coniferous species, others appear on both coniferous and deciduous trees. It is important to know the main signs of diseases and pests of pine in order to save it from serious damage and death.
Pine silkworm
Pine silkworm is the most common and dangerous pest for Scotch pine, as it most often affects this particular plant and is rarely found on other trees. This pine pest is a caterpillar that feeds on pine needles.
It is quite easy to recognize the silkworm, its appearance is evidenced primarily by damage to the needles, which the caterpillar simply eats. If you look closely, you can see the gray caterpillars themselves about 10 cm long on the shoots of the plant. The danger is that, if left untreated, the silkworm can eat the whole pine tree. Even winter frosts will not harm the insect, since it will simply wait out them at the roots, and with the onset of spring it will return to the food supply on the branches.
Pine is treated with insecticidal agents. In particular, the drug Lepidocide helps well - coniferous plantings are sprayed with a solution at the rate of 3 liters per 1 hectare.
Pine scoop
Another dangerous pest that feeds on young pine needles and buds is a caterpillar called the pine scoop. Despite the fact that the feeding period of the insect is only about 30-40 days, during this time the scoop can cause serious damage to the pine tree - damage the needles, fresh shoots and buds, thereby provoking the drying of the plant.
The presence of the scoop is indicated by a noticeable depletion of pine needles and damage to the shoots and buds. Measures to combat the pine scoop include treatment with Lepidocide and treatment with other insecticidal agents.
Pine Hermes
The pine hermes is a kind of common aphid that sucks the juices out of coniferous needles. You can recognize the pest by several symptoms. First of all, in the initial stages, pine needles are covered with a white bloom, if you look at a photo of pine Hermes, you can understand that this bloom is a colony of very small insect larvae. Later, due to the harmful effects of Hermes, the pine needles turn yellow and crumble.
Measures to control pine hermes are reduced to insecticide treatment, for example, Decis, Karbofos, Aktellik or other means. The processing must be repeated throughout the season every 4 weeks, since the generations of Hermes change very quickly. For a complete treatment, you can also pour Aktara's solution under the pine root.
Pine sawflies
The pest is small green larvae about 8 mm in length that live on pine shoots and feed on pine needles.The work of a pine sawfly can be seen on a pine tree from afar, the disease manifests itself as yellow spots on the crown. If you come closer, you will find that the pine needles are not only dry, but also twisted and bitten by a pest.
To combat a pine pest with a sawfly, it is necessary to spray pine trees with insecticides - Karbofos, Lepidocide and other means. Also, during the treatment, it is useful to dig up the ground around the pine trunks; pest larvae may be in the ground, which are distinguished by their amazing vitality and frost resistance.
Pine aphid
The pest of pine brown pine aphid is a great danger, since it usually affects the tree in large colonies. At the same time, in spring, aphids are located mainly on young shoots, but in summer they move to thicker old branches and thus pose a threat to the entire plant. A symptom of the appearance of aphids is darkening of the needles - the needles twist, dry out and acquire a dark brown color.
The fight against the disease and treatment is carried out using conventional insecticides - you can spray the tree with Angio, Karbofos, Lepidocide. During treatment, attention should be paid not only to the needles, but also to the branches and trunk, otherwise part of the colony may survive and multiply again.
Pine scale insects
The spindle-shaped pine scab is an insect that feeds on the vital juices of pine needles, thereby causing the needles to fall off. It is difficult to fight the scabbard, since the body of this pest, as can be seen from the photo of the pine pest, is covered with a solid shield that ensures the insect's safety. Pine is mainly affected by larvae and female scale insects; you can find out about their presence by the unexpected yellowing and shedding of the needles. A particular danger for pine is that even young branches can suffer and fall if left untreated.
Treatment of pine from the scale insect is carried out with insecticides - Karbofos, Mospilan and others. It is necessary to spray the tree in the spring before bud formation, at a time when the pests are most vulnerable, and the pine tree has not yet been seriously damaged.
Bark beetles
These insects are pests of the pine bark, they appear on the trunks and at the roots of the plant and are especially dangerous for seedlings and weakened trees. The bark beetle gnaws through thin passages inside the bark, actively reproduces, remaining almost imperceptible, and during the season can give up to 3 generations.
It is difficult to treat pine from bark beetle primarily because it is difficult to notice it. At the initial stages of pine disease, only traces of sawdust near the roots can report the presence of a bark beetle. The owners of the plots rarely notice the moves themselves, since the bark must be very carefully looked at, and for this, in turn, grounds are needed. If the moment of the initial infection was missed, then most often the presence of the bark beetle becomes obvious only after the needles begin to turn yellow, and the trunk is gradually exposed.
The fight against the pest of pine seedlings is carried out using conventional insecticides or preparations based on bifenthrin. Treatment should be carried out from April to August.
Spider mites
The red spider mite is another dangerous pest that can completely destroy the pine tree. The insect not only feeds on the vital juices of coniferous needles, but also entangles pine shoots with a thin dense web, which prevents the access of sunlight and interferes with the process of photosynthesis. Under the influence of a spider mite, pine needles quickly dry up, change color first to red, and then to brown, and eventually crumble.
Despite the danger of a spider mite, this pest is good because the traces of its vital activity are very easy to notice with the naked eye.Accordingly, this makes it possible to take timely measures to eliminate the tick and preserve the health of the pine tree. To eliminate the insect, it is necessary to treat the crown of the plant with preparations containing colloidal sulfur and insecticides; pruning of seriously damaged shoots will also help.
Spider mites most often appear on pine branches in hot and dry weather. Therefore, one of the methods of treatment is ordinary spraying of pine with cold water, if you maintain a normal level of moisture, the risk of damage will noticeably decrease.
Scots pine diseases and their treatment
In addition to pests, characteristic woody diseases pose a danger to pine, they are most often caused by fungal pathogens. If untreated, any of the diseases can lead to the death of the entire tree, so you need to know what alarming symptoms ailments manifest.
Pine wither
The causative agent of this disease is a rust fungus called Melampsorapinttorgua, most often the disease affects young branches of seedlings and pines that have not yet reached 10 years. The most striking symptom of a fungal disease is the curvature of the shoots, which should normally be straight and even. If untreated, the disease can lead to the death of an individual pine or an entire planting, since the spores of the fungus quickly spread to neighboring plants.
Measures to combat pine vertun are to remove all infected shoots and spray the pines with antifungal agents - Bordeaux liquid 1%, polycarbacin 1% and cinebom 0.8%.
Necrosis
The causative agents of the disease are the fungi Sphaeriapithyophila Fr. and others, which appear most often in the second half of summer and affect the lower branches of pines. Necrosis leads to local withering away of areas of the bark on young branches and drying out of shoots, with an advanced disease, the fungus can also infect the buds and needles and move, including to the middle and upper branches. If not treated, then ultimately necrosis will lead to the death of the entire pine.
You can notice the disease at the initial stage by carefully examining the branches - the harmful fungus looks like microscopic black growths on the bark, single or collected in groups. Most often, the disease develops in conditions of excessive humidity and with a lack of light, which is why, first of all, the lower branches suffer from necrosis.
Treatment measures are to completely remove the affected branches and treat the pine with a solution of 1% Bordeaux liquid. The same remedy is recommended for the prevention of disease if the pine tree grows in a poorly lit area and in conditions of high humidity.
Biotorella pine cancer
The disease is caused by the fungus Biatorelladifformis and usually affects the trunk in the middle and lower part or at the roots. Under the influence of a harmful fungus, the pine bark changes color to brown and dries up, over time, ulcers characteristic of tree cancer are formed. Soon after the bark dies off, the needles begin to turn yellow and crumble, which can lead to the complete death of the plant.
To stop the spread of cancer, it is necessary to carry out treatment - to cut off the affected branches and areas of the bark with a sharp and sterile instrument. Sections and exposed areas on the trunk for treatment must be treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
Scleroderriosis
The cause of this disease is the infection of the pine with the Scleroderrislagerbergii fungus, which most often chooses young seedlings not older than 2-3 years. It is quite simple to recognize scleroderriosis - with this disease, the needles at the ends of young shoots, near the bud at the top, hang with an umbrella and crumble from a light touch.In the initial stages of the disease, the needles remain green, but then turn brown. The spread of the disease begins most often from the upper branches to the lower ones; in the last stages of the disease, not only young shoots are captured, but also deep tissues of the branches and trunk.
The disease poses a great danger to seedlings, as it often leads to their rapid and complete death. In adult trees, scleroderriosis can develop for years without treatment, but the appearance of the pine continues to deteriorate, and ultimately the tree still dies.
Treatment of scleroderriosis is recommended with fungicidal agents, the most famous of which are Bordeaux liquid and copper sulfate. Infected parts of the plant must be removed so that disease spores do not spread from them to healthy shoots.
Rot
A dangerous and insidious disease is numerous rot - diseases of the pine tree on the trunk, which also affect the roots. Their action is manifested in the fact that over time, the needles begin to turn yellow and crumble, and the wood of the trunk loses its density and acquires many voids. The roots of the plant also lose their vitality, the pine becomes fragile and can fall even from a moderately strong wind.
It is very difficult to recognize rot in the early stages, since diseases of this type develop over the years, capturing only 1 cm of a tree annually. Usually rot is noticed already at later stages, when the characteristic fruiting body of the fungus is formed on the pine trunk.
Treatment of the disease boils down to the fact that the growths of mushrooms that have appeared are necessarily cut off and the places are treated with a cut with copper sulfate. Fruit bodies are dangerous not only for diseased pine, but also for other plants, since spores from them spread throughout the district. In order, in principle, to prevent the appearance of elusive rot, it is necessary to carry out annual preventive spraying of trees with fungicidal solutions and carefully monitor the quality and moisture of the soil.
Rust
Rust, caused by the harmful fungus Coleosporium, is one of the most common diseases in conifers. It is very easy to recognize rust, at the beginning of spring small orange “pads” appear on the pine needles, and after that the needles turn yellow. As a result, the pine loses its attractive appearance, and if the disease is neglected and without treatment, it may die.
Treatment of the disease is carried out with drugs with a high copper content, these include solutions Kuproksat, Oksikhom and others. In the process of treatment, it is necessary to process not only the injured tree, but also neighboring plantings, including herbaceous perennials - the spores of the fungus very easily spread to nearby plants.
Powdery mildew
The development of the disease is provoked by spores of the fungus Erysiphales - plants infected with powdery mildew are covered with a whitish bloom with small transparent droplets on the surface. These dew-like droplets are spores of the fungus and pose a great danger to trees. The infected parts of the pine stop developing and receive sufficient sunlight, which leads to darkening and falling of the needles. Under the influence of powdery mildew, the tree as a whole weakens and not only loses its decorative effect, but also becomes less resistant to changes in weather and temperature.
To treat the disease, planting must be treated with a solution of foundationol or colloidal sulfur, and trees need to be sprayed more than once, but at least 3-5 times.
Schütte
A disease caused by a fungus called Colletotrichumgloeosporiordes manifests itself in a change in the color of pine needles. At the first stages of the disease, microscopic black spots and transverse stripes appear on the needles, and subsequently the needles acquire a gray or brown color. The disease leads to shedding of the needles and weakening of the tree, so the pine needs timely treatment.
To eliminate the disease, pine must be treated with fungicides and colloidal sulfur. And since the infection of the shute occurs in the fall, treatment and prevention is best carried out shortly before the establishment of snow cover, so that the fungicidal solutions remain on the needles until winter.
Disease of drying out needles and shoots
The disease is provoked by the fungus Acanthostigmaparasitica and develops most often in conditions of high humidity and high air temperatures. Under the influence of fungal spores, pine needles, apical buds and shoots dry out, turn pale and yellow, and then die off. The disease affects young trees up to 15 years old, often develops as a focal type, and can affect the wood under the bark.
Treatment of the disease is carried out by spraying with fungicidal preparations in April or May - during the growth of young needles on the shoots. For the best effect, spraying is best done 2-3 times in order to completely eliminate the spores of the fungus.
Verticillary wilting
The disease is initiated by spores of the fungus Verticilliumalbo-atrum and is expressed in the gradual death of the roots of the tree, which inevitably leads to the death of the pine in the absence of treatment. You can suspect the presence of verticillary wilting by discoloration and softening of the needles at the tops.
Treatment of the disease is carried out not only with fungicidal agents, but also by neutralizing the soil, the lower the alkalinity of the soil, the weaker the manifestations of the disease. To prevent the development of the disease, it is necessary to monitor the degree of soil moisture and carry out regular loosening.
Sclerotinous snow mold
This disease develops under the influence of the fungus Sclerotiniaborealis and is expressed in the fact that in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, the pine needles turn yellow, and then acquire a reddish-brown color and fall off. Especially often the disease affects pines after warm and snowy winters, since the development of the disease occurs precisely under the snow.
To treat pine, it is necessary to use chemical agents - copper sulfate and fungicidal solutions, it is also useful to plow the ground at the roots of the tree from time to time.
Preventive actions
Any common pine disease caused by fungal spores or pests is much easier to prevent than to treat. To maintain the health of pine seedlings and mature trees, the following rules must be observed:
- pay attention to the quality and level of soil moisture, regularly make mineral fertilizing;
- plant pine in well-lit areas with good ventilation - many ailments develop precisely in conditions of shading and stagnant moisture in the soil;
- choose only high-quality seedlings and seed for planting;
- annually carry out preventive treatment of pines with Bordeaux liquid and fungicidal substances, the products do not harm the plant, but they allow to prevent the appearance of pests and to carry out treatment in the early stages;
- regularly weed and loosen the soil at the roots of the pine and prevent overgrowth weeds, many of them are intermediate carriers of fungal spores and pest larvae.
Conclusion
Pine diseases and their treatment is a question that all summer residents who decide to take up the cultivation of ordinary pine need to familiarize themselves with. Despite the external strength and strength, the tree is susceptible to the harmful effects of many fungi and pests and needs constant protection and periodic treatment.
