Apple tree treatment for diseases and pests

Despite the fact that there are immune varieties of apple trees, most often you can’t avoid defeating them with various diseases and attack by pests. It's a shame when after a beautiful and lush flowering after some time the ovaries either fall off or the fruits turn out to be wormy. And there are more severe cases - when not only the crop dies, but also the tree itself. To avoid this kind of trouble, you need to know how, how and when to treat the apple tree from diseases and pests.

Preventative treatments

To prevent possible diseases of apple trees and pest attacks, it is recommended to carry out preventive treatments in a timely manner.

Spring treatments

This is the most important step in the fight against diseases and pests. It is carried out in early spring before the swelling of the kidneys by spraying the crowns of trees and the soil of tree trunks with potent drugs of universal action:

• DNOC (allowed to use once every three years);
• Nitrafen (once a year);
• 3% solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid.

Photo gallery: preparations for the eradicating treatments of apple trees

Processing the trunk of an apple tree with damage to the bark

Sometimes it happens that the bark of an apple tree gets damaged. This can occur as a result of frost pits, damage by rodents, bark beetles, careless handling of tools, etc. In such cases, clean the wound with a sharp knife to healthy tissues and disinfect with 1% solution of copper sulfate (you can use hydrogen peroxide, alcohol). After that, let dry and cover with a layer of garden var.

It is not recommended to use a garden var, which includes petroleum products - petrolatum, kerosene, gasoline, etc. Experienced gardeners prefer protective compositions based on natural components - beeswax, lanolin, vegetable resins.

Experienced gardeners prefer protective compounds based on natural ingredients

Some gardeners use a mixture of cow dung and red clay in equal proportions to protect wounds. This mixture is diluted with water to the consistency of thick sour cream and coated with a wound. In case of large area damage, you can additionally wrap a branch or trunk with a cotton cloth.

How to process saw cut apple trees

When trimming, all saw cuts of branches with a diameter of more than 10 mm should be cleaned with a sharp knife and covered with a layer of a garden var.

Saws of branches with a diameter of more than 10 mm should be cleaned with a sharp knife and covered with a layer of garden var

And also for protection of cuts it is possible to use special garden paints on an acrylic basis.

Garden paints are used to whitewash trunks and protect cuts.

How to remove moss and lichen from an apple tree

On the bark of apple trees growing in shady, moist places with a thickened crown, mosses or lichens often appear. Without going into the details of their biology, we note that mosses and lichens are united by the absence of roots. They can not be attributed either to diseases or to pests of the apple tree. Mosses and lichens do not feed on the bark, nor on the leaves, nor on the fruits of the apple tree. The tree bark is for them only a platform for living - they receive food with dust, rain water and as a result of photosynthesis. Therefore, the apple tree does harm from them only as a result of creating moist areas on the bark where pests and fungi can live. In order to get rid of mosses and lichens you need:

1. Spread film, fabric, paper, etc. under the tree.
2. Carefully scrape off all growths from the surface of the branches and trunk. To do this, use a spatula, knife (with a blunt side), a steel brush, etc. Do this carefully, without damaging the bark.
   

   You can remove moss or lichen from the bark of a tree with a spatula.
3. After completing this step, remove and burn the resulting waste.
4. Spray the crown, trunk and branches with 2% solution of iron sulfate.
5. Whiten the trunk and thick branches with a solution of slaked lime with the addition of 3% copper sulfate.

These works should be carried out either in autumn or in early spring before budding.

Video: mosses and lichens on fruit trees

How and how to treat an apple tree from diseases

Most often, apple trees are susceptible to fungal diseases. Less commonly, bacterial and viral.

Treatments against fungal diseases

These diseases are caused by various fungi. They are united by ways and means of infection. The spores of the pathogen fall on various parts of the plant with streams of air, dust, rain, are introduced by insects. When favorable conditions (temperature, humidity) occur, they germinate and the fungus begins its destructive effect. For prevention and treatment, drugs are used, combined in a group of fungicides.

Prevention and treatment of moniliosis

One of the most common diseases. Most often, infection occurs in the spring, when the bees on the legs enter the spores of the fungus into the flowers of the apple tree. Amazed flowers, young shoots, leaves. All this fades and seems to be charred. This is called a monilial burn.

With moniliosis, the shoots and leaves of an apple tree look charred

The affected parts of the plant are removed and destroyed, after which they are treated with fungicides, for example, Horus, Abiga-Peak, Topsin. To prevent the problem, it is better to start processing in advance. They are carried out:

1. Before flowering.
2. After flowering.
3. 10-15 days after the second treatment.

If the disease could not be completely cured or the infection occurred in the summer, then moniliosis affects the fruits with gray (fruit) rot.

In the summer, moniliosis affects the fruit with gray (fruit) rot

In this case, the affected fruits are collected and destroyed, after which the crown is sprayed with the Strobi preparation, which quickly stops the course of the disease, and also prevents its further spread. But you can do this no less than 35 days before the intended harvest of apples. If the deadline is missed, then before harvesting they are limited to the use of the biological drug Fitosporin with an interval of 1-2 weeks. This drug is not addictive and safe for humans.

It must be remembered that the fruits can rot not only from moniliosis, but also from damage to the skin by pests, for example, the moth. In such cases, rotting begins locally around the site of damage. Pest control measures are described below.

Photo gallery: apple tree fungicides

Video: fruit rot

Fungal apple treatment

On the bark of the apple tree, moldy formations with a fungal nature sometimes appear. The fungus grows into the bark and destroys it. In advanced cases, it grows into wood. This is especially often observed when there are unprocessed branch cuts on the tree. In these cases, a hollow may form as a result of the lesion. You can cure an apple tree from a fungus on the bark, regardless of its type:

1. Clean the damaged areas and remove the affected parts of the bark and wood to healthy tissues.
2. Soak the surface of the wound with 2% solution of copper sulfate.
3. Treat the wound with garden varnish or RanNet.
   

   RanNet is used to protect and treat bark and wood damage

Black Apple Cancer Treatment

Black (European) cancer of apple trees usually occurs in cracks in the bark or on untreated cuts of branches. Moreover, this happens only on weakened, groomed plants. Healthy and strong apple trees are not affected by this disease. The first signs of it are the appearance of brown spots on the surface of the branches, after which the bark cracks, black tubercles form on it. After some time, the affected pieces of the bark break off, exposing the wood.

Black (European) apple cancer usually occurs in cracked bark

The treatment of black cancer is no different from the treatment of any other fungus: cleaning the wound to a healthy bark and wood; treatment with a 2% solution of copper sulfate; garden var protection.

Bacterial diseases of the apple tree - prevention and treatment

Bacteriosis (bacterial burn) of the apple tree is caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora brought to us from America. The causative agent penetrates the vascular system of the plant through damage and cracked tissues. Most often, the bacterium enters through the pistil of a flower damaged by moniliosis, and both diseases can occur simultaneously. To diagnose bacteriosis, you need to know its symptoms:

• Between the leaf veins spots of red color appear.
• The ends of the shoots of the current year dry up and fade.
• Due to the appearance of white discharge, the bark becomes sticky. After a while, the mucus darkens.
• Drying buds and flowers do not fall, but continue to remain on the branches and acquire a dark brown color.
  

  Drying buds and flowers affected by bacteriosis of the apple tree do not fall, but continue to remain on the branches and acquire a dark brown color

• The blackened and dead fruits also do not crumble and hang on branches for a long time.

The carriers of infection are sucking insects. Therefore, preventive treatments against pests and diseases will be effective against bacterial diseases. Antibiotics are used for treatment: Ampicillin, Fitolavin, Tetracycline + Streptomycin, Ofloxacin.

Viral diseases of the apple tree - prevention

Viruses, like bacteria, are introduced into the plant by sucking insects. Viruses enter the vascular system of the tree through damage, cuts, cracks. Viral diseases are known: mosaic, panicle (witch's broom), star (star) cracking of fruits and others. There are no drugs that destroy viruses, so only preventative measures are effective. To increase immunity to viruses, spraying with phytohormones, for example, Epin or Zircon, is used.

Photo gallery: apple tree viral diseases

How and how to treat an apple tree from pests

There are quite a few pests attacking the apple tree.

Harmful insects

In the fight against harmful insects, drugs of the insecticide group are used.

Codling Apple Tree Processing

If the apples on the apple tree turned out to be wormy, the codling moth worked on them. Codling moth is a nocturnal butterfly whose caterpillars penetrate into the ovaries and fruits, where they feed on seeds.

If the apples on the apple tree turned out to be wormy, then the codling moth worked on them

Butterfly lays eggs on young leaves and flowers of apple trees. It is at this time that insecticides must be treated (Decis, Fufanon, Iskra, Karbofos, Karate, Actellik are used). The first treatment is carried out immediately after flowering, then two more with an interval of 10-12 days. Thus, you can get rid of the pest even at the stage of imago (butterfly) and prevent egg laying. It must be understood that when the larvae emerging from the eggs get inside the fruit, it will be too late to fight them.

Photo gallery: popular insecticides for the treatment of apple trees from moth and other pests

Video: processing the apple tree from the moth

Treatments of the apple tree from the beetle

Flower beetle (weevil) hibernates in fallen leaves and topsoils. In early spring it rises to the surface and then to the crown of the apple tree. His female gnaws buds and buds, and then lays one egg in them. Larvae crawling out of the eggs eat out the flowers from the inside, after which they wither.

Flower beetle larvae eat flowers from the inside, after which they wither

Spring treatment with insecticides against the codling moth is simultaneously effective against the beetle.

Fighting aphids

Aphids are small sucking insects, usually located on the underside of leaves and feeding on their juice.

Aphid is a small sucking insect, usually located on the underside of leaves and feeding on their juice

Since ants carry aphids on the crown of an apple tree, it is first of all necessary to fight them. To do this, you can use the Inta-Vir tool, which is also effective against many other pests (including the codling moth and leafworm). The aphid itself can be destroyed with the same drug if it has already settled on the leaves of the apple tree.

Inta Vir will destroy ants on the site in 7-12 days

Leaflet

Butterfly butterfly flies in May and lays eggs on the young leaves of an apple tree. After 10-12 days, small (up to 10 mm) caterpillars emerge from the eggs, which feed on leaves, twisting them into a lump of irregular shape, covered in cobwebs. Many insecticides are effective for treatments, including those mentioned above. With timely prevention, pest damage can be avoided.

Leafworm caterpillars feed on leaves, twisting them into a lump of irregular shape

How to get rid of bark beetle

Bark beetle is a small (about 4 mm) flying bug. In the spring, his female gnaws at long branched passages under the bark of an apple tree deep into the wood. In each turn, she lays eggs, of which, after 10-12 days, legless larvae with powerful jaws appear. During the growing season, the larvae feed on wood and bast, making numerous and long passages. Usually notice the presence of a pest after the fall of the affected areas of the cortex. An attentive gardener will detect a bark beetle, having noticed flying holes on the bark with a diameter of about two millimeters. Next to them is usually a pile of wood flour.

During the growing season, the bark beetle larvae feed on wood and bast, making numerous and long passages

To combat the beetle, spraying with insecticides is used at the beginning of the flight of beetles, which coincides with the end of flowering of the apple tree. The most effective drugs:

• Confidor Extra;
• Calypso;
• Pirinex et al.

There is a folk remedy for treating wood from bark beetles and other insects based on diesel fuel. This oil product penetrates into the smallest cracks and pores of the crust, which ensures its high efficiency. It is achieved by creating a protective film on the surface that prevents the access of oxygen. As a result, insects die. The most popular recipes using diesel fuel:

• Recipe number 1:
  • Dissolve 100 grams of iron sulfate in one liter of water;
  • to the resulting mixture add one liter of 10% slaked lime and two liters of diesel fuel;
  • With this solution, the trunk and branches of the tree are sprayed until it awakens.
• Recipe number 2:
  • 20 parts of diesel fuel + 20 parts of water + 5 parts of clay;
  • this solution can be used during flowering and fruit formation.
• Recipe number 3:
  • 10 parts of diesel fuel + 9 parts of water + 1 part of laundry or tar soap;
  • application is similar to recipe No. 2.

If the bark beetle has already penetrated deep into the wood, then insecticide extrusion should be used. To do this, they are injected into the flight openings using a conventional medical syringe. For extrusion, the same preparations are used as for spraying, but their concentration is increased to 0.1 ml of the emulsion per 100 ml of water.

If the bark beetle penetrated deep into the wood, then insecticide extrusion should be applied.

Ticks

Most often, a spider mite is seen on the apple tree, which settles on the underside of the leaves of the apple tree and feeds on their juice. Damaged leaves curl slightly and become covered with cobwebs.

Spider web on leaves - a sign of damage by a spider mite

In the early spring for the prevention of any ticks, including spider mites, the prophylactic treatments described above with potent drugs are sufficient. Then use acaricides, for example, Fufanon, Karate, Actellik. Since these agents have a wide spectrum of action, their treatment prevents the attack of many insect pests. Such treatments are also preventive in nature and are carried out three times: before flowering, after flowering, and 7-10 days after the second treatment. Further processing is carried out as necessary - if signs of damage are detected.

Rodents

In winter, rodents - field mice, hares, often attack the apple trees. Young trees with a tender and lush bark are particularly prone to this. Of course, it is better to take measures in advance to prevent such a nuisance. To do this, in the autumn, the trunks are whitened with lime mortar or garden paint, and they are also tied with protective materials - roofing material, film, spruce branches, etc.

To protect the trunk of the apple tree from rodents, plastic bottles are quite suitable

But if you still could not save the apple tree, then first of all you need to assess the extent of damage. If they are insignificant, then apply the usual measures for treating damage to the bark and wood, described above. In cases when fresh lesions are found and the bark has not yet managed to dry, apply medical dressings.

• Therapeutic dressing with a decoction of linden. They do it like this:
  • Two hundred grams of dried linden (flowers, leaves) is poured with one liter of cold water.
    

    Dried linden can be used to treat apple tree wounds

  • Put on fire, bring to a boil and boil for 30 minutes.
  • Cool and filter through a layer of gauze.
  • They impregnate a previously cleaned wound with a decoction.
  • Bandage the wound with plastic wrap until the fall.
• Therapeutic bandage with a talker. A thick clatter of clay and mullein smear the wound, bandage it with burlap or other similar tissue and cover it with clay on top. In the autumn, the bandage is removed.
• Medical bandage with blue vitriol. Prepare a 3% solution of copper sulfate, which impregnate the wound. After drying, it is bandaged with plastic wrap or a garden bandage. The bandage is removed in the fall.
  

  Garden universal bandage is great for applying dressings

When to process an apple tree from pests

The processing time for apple pests coincides with the treatment time for diseases. Eradicating treatments are carried out in early spring and / or late autumn. Preventive treatments against flying forms of insects are carried out before flowering, after the flowers fall, and after another 1-1.5 weeks. Further processing is carried out as necessary when pests are detected.

Preparations for spraying the apple tree

To spray the apple trees, chemical, biological and folk remedies are used. For the convenience of the reader, we summarize all the preparations mentioned in the article (and not only) in a table.

Table: means for spraying and processing apple trees

Apple processing in various regions

Methods, treatment methods, drugs used do not depend on the region of apple growing. They will be the same for the Far East, Siberia, the middle lane or the Western Crimea. The only difference is the calendar processing time. That is why we tied them to certain phases of the plant's development - a state of rest (before the buds swell), the period before flowering, flowering, decay of flowers, setting and growth of fruits, ripening of fruits. Therefore, the recommendations of the material presented are applicable for gardeners of any region.

The most important apple treatments are preventative. If the gardener timely conducts eradicating spraying with potent drugs, as well as preventive spring treatments, then this will almost certainly save him from disappointment.