Content
Scab on an apple tree Is a fungal disease that often occurs on many fruit trees. Millions of insects: ants, beetles, butterflies carry microscopic spores of the fungus on their bodies, leaving them on all parts of the tree, on leaves, fruits, bark. For the time being, the disputes are in relative calm until they wait for favorable conditions for their development. Such conditions occur after heavy rains. Moisture, getting on the spores of the fungus, gives them food for rapid and harmful (for trees) spread. To fight with scab it is necessary in spring, summer, autumn, otherwise the leaves of the apple tree will dry out, the fruits will lose their presentation, and the branches and trunks will be constantly eaten away by scab (see photo).
Scab on an apple tree
The main signs
In early spring, insects, the main carriers of scab spores, wake up. Winds and rains also carry fungal spores, which quickly spread to all plants in the garden. Noticeable changes occur on apple trees and pears:
- The first stage of the appearance of scab on an apple tree: plaque appears on the leaves of the tree in places of infection, its color is olive, the texture is velvety.
- The second stage of scab development: spots on the leaves affected by scab darken, become light brown.
- The third stage of tree disease: young shoots of an apple tree turn black, dry and droop, leaves fall prematurely, cracks appear on the branches of adult plants, many dark brown spots form on the fruits, apples crack and fall.
The scab on the apple tree reduces the yield, the fruits lose their presentation, the apple trees weaken, their viability decreases, they die in winter, not having the strength to withstand frost. To help apple trees overcome the disease and survive in the fight against it, gardeners carry out processing annually fruit trees different ways. In spring, summer, autumn, sometimes in winter (if the weather permits), they go out to a merciless struggle with scab. We will tell you about some of the ways and methods of this fight, with the help of which you can protect the trees in your garden.
Please watch the videos posted in the relevant sections of our article. They will help you put all these activities into practice.
Control methods
There are many ways to protect fruit trees from scab damage; complex measures must be taken: prevention, chemicals, folk remedies. You need to start with preventive measures even if your apple trees are completely healthy:
- timely cleaning of the garden from fallen leaves and fruits;
- removal of scab-infected branches, leaves and apples;
- utilization of plant residues (incineration);
- regular loosening and digging of the soil around the apple tree trunks;
- it is necessary to eliminate shortcomings in feeding, apply fertilizers in the right amount and at a certain time;
- constantly monitor the flow of moisture: in case of heavy rains, make drainage drainage, and in dry periods, watering is needed - 2 times a week, 20 liters of water per tree;
- 1-2 times per season, it is necessary to spray the apple trees with a fungicide solution (Bordeaux liquid, sulfur color, and others).
Let's take a closer look at what steps to take in the spring, summer, and fall to prevent or eradicate scab symptoms.
Spring prevention
In the spring, when the trees bloom their first buds, young shoots and leaves are very vulnerable to many fungal diseases. Regular spring works related to the prevention of apple scab disease:
Apple tree processing in spring
- apply organic fertilizers along the trunk circle with a diameter of 0.6 - 1.0 meters: manure, compost, peat and ash that have rotted over the winter, observing the application rates for fruit trees: manure - 2-3 buckets, compost - 2 buckets, peat - 1 bucket , ash - 0.5 buckets;
- dig up the soil, removing last year's foliage and fallen branches;
- pour water over the apple tree (10-15 liters);
- additionally treat wet soil with solutions of urea (carbamide), potassium chloride or ammonium nitrate (see video);
- apply lime whitewash on the trunks to a height of 1 m;
- spray all branches and trunk with a solution of Bordeaux mixture.
Try to complete all these activities before the first buds bloom on the apple tree.
Summer fight
In the summer, in June-July, it is time for the second stage of scab control. Fall prevention and all the measures taken against scab may not be as effective as you expected. The rains in May wash away the preparations with which the trees were treated at the beginning of spring from the leaves. Scab spores, which did not die during the initial spraying, rapidly capture and devour new areas on the leaves and twigs of apple trees. Gardeners are forced to carry out secondary summer processing of the garden, not to give the crop to the gluttonous fungus.
Apple tree processing in summer
This work must be done before the apple trees begin to set fruit, that is, immediately after flowering.
The main events during this period:
- to make secondary feeding of apple trees with complex fertilizers, organic matter can not be used, use chemical agents, solutions of which can be combined with spraying from scab;
- remove all fallen leaves and apple fruits infected with scab, dispose of or burn;
- Dig the earth around the trunk of the tree, treat with potassium chloride, urea or ammonium nitrate, adding ferrous sulfate to the solution;
- spray the apple tree with scab remedies with those indicated in the table or other suitable ones;
- after 2 weeks, repeat the spray treatment.
This concludes the summer scab control. Chemicals should not be applied for a month and during fruiting.
In the video, you can see how to spray tall trees. Try to get the solution on the back of the leaves, on all branches and on the trunk. You may need a lot of solution, in the summer the foliage on the apple trees has already blossomed, the surface of the treated areas has increased significantly, so calculate in advance how much of the product you need to buy.
Treatment in the fall
In the spring, we carried out the prevention of scab on an apple tree, in the summer we sprayed apple trees twice in order to stop the development of the fungus and protect the trees from further damage by the scab. In the fall, it is necessary to consolidate the result obtained so that the apple trees grow stronger, free themselves from the harmful effects of the disease and can winter well. The main activities are the same as in spring and summer: feeding, spraying with fungicides (see video), removing infected leaves and branches.
In addition, it is necessary to eliminate other reasons for the development of scab on an apple tree:
- Pruning and thinning trees... The scab develops quickly if the apple tree receives little sunlight, that is, the crown is very thickened. It is necessary to cut off those branches that grow inside the crown, directed towards the trunk of the apple tree. It is recommended to cut large and thick branches gradually (1-2 pieces per season) so as not to injure the plant too much.Young shoots not infected with scab are cut by 1/3, diseased shoots are removed completely.
- Treatment against wintering pests... Some species of insects remain to winter in the soil, especially those that choose near-trunk territories for their wintering place. In the spring, they become the first to infect a tree with scab. Spraying with pesticides will help to destroy such pests. The soil around the apple tree (circle diameter of at least 2 m) must also be cleaned of eggs and pests hibernating in the ground. For this, the near-trunk circle is spilled with the same solutions of chemicals.
By completing all the recommended activities, from spring to the onset of the wintering period, you will protect your apple trees from this terrible fungus. To finally get rid of the scab, it is necessary to carry out the whole complex of scab control for 2-3 seasons.
Processing in autumn
Folk remedies
For gardeners who do not tolerate the use of chemicals in the garden, we recommend some folk methods of scab control.
- Saline solution... For a 10 liter bucket of water, 1 kg of salt is used. Spraying is carried out in early spring.when the apple trees are still at rest, that is, before the buds swell.
- Horsetail tincture... 1 kg of fresh horsetail herb is poured with 5 liters of boiling water, insisted for 3 days, then 1 liter of this infusion is diluted with 10 liters of water. Apple trees are sprayed when the first leaves appear.
- Mustard solution... Dissolve 100 g of dry mustard in a bucket of hot water, stir thoroughly until the powder particles are completely dissolved. With such a solution, you can spray apple trees from scab at any time, regardless of the growing season of the tree. For the whole season, 4 sprays are done.
- Potassium permanganate solution... The solution should be high in concentration, dark purple in color. It is used for the treatment and prevention of scab on apple, pear and other fruit trees. Sick and healthy plants are treated 3 times with an interval of 20 days.
- Whey bacteria... Prepare fresh whey, filter through cheesecloth so as not to clog the sprayer tube, pour it into a spray container and treat the diseased tree, all its parts: leaves, fruits, branches. Experienced gardeners ensure that the scab on the apple tree is destroyed the first time.
Friendship with a neighbor
The summer cottages of our gardeners are often closely located to each other, because of the small territories they are separated only by low fences. Your entire scab control can become ineffective if a neighbor's infested apple trees are not handled properly. Soon, the spores of the fungus will move from neighboring trees to your already cured apple trees.
For such a struggle, you need, it is simply necessary, to make friends with your neighbors, to combine your forces and resources to eradicate this infectious disease from your gardens. Only when this condition is met, you will completely get rid of the scab, and the yield of apple trees will not suffer.
Conclusion
Scab on an apple tree is a dangerous disease, but the constant care of gardeners for their green pets helps in the fight against the fungus. They will not allow the death of the plant, showing their love in tireless help to a sick sprout, even the smallest or already matured.
