Diseases and pests of apricot trees, treatment and prevention

Apricot to obtain high yields and quality fruits, requires some attention from the gardener. Having noticed a disease or the appearance of a pest in time, you can quickly intervene and fix the problem. What are the diseases of the apricot, what are their causes. What pests can attack it, how to prevent and how to fight - these are topical issues when growing apricot.

Diseases of apricot trees and their treatment

Apricot is a thermophilic and demanding to care, at first glance, plant. Often exposed to various fungal and infectious diseases that can affect all parts of the plant - bark, leaves, flowers, fruits. You need to know the enemy in person in order to effectively deal with him, and even better, do not even let him near the apricot trees. Applying timely and competently preventive measures, it is possible (and necessary), in general, to avoid the manifestation of diseases and not to bring to treatment.

Apricot bark diseases and control

Various fungi can settle on and beneath the apricot bark, causing diseases such as cytosporosis (stem rot), gum disease, cracking of the bark. Mosses and lichens can also settle on the bark.

Why does apricot crack bark

Sometimes cracks appear on the apricot crust. This may be due to the following reasons:

• Fungal diseases. Diagnosis and treatment methods will be discussed below in a special section.
• Frostbite. It occurs in winter, during frequent temperature changes, as well as on sunny, frosty days. On the sunny side, the crust can heat up to large positive temperatures (+ 15-20 ° C) and on the shadow side, the temperature of the crust can have a temperature of -10-15 ° C. Such a big difference leads to cracks.
  

  Cracks in the apricot crust from frost, appear with frequent temperature changes

• Sunburn.
• Damage by rodents (mice, hares). Often, especially on young trees, rodents damage a significant part of the bark around the entire circumference of the trunk. The tree is dying. Prevention measures - to tie the lower part of the trunk with protective materials for winter - burlap, roofing felt, etc.

Regardless of the reasons why cracks appeared on the cortex (with the exception of fungal and cancerous diseases), the treatment procedure is the same.

1. The damage site is carefully cleaned with a knife and a steel brush, removing all damaged bark until healthy, green tissues appear. The same applies to wood. This operation can be carried out at any time of the year, except for the period of active sap flow (spring).
2. Leave the wound alone for a while so that it dries.
3. Disinfect the wound with a 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid or copper sulfate. You can use other antifungal drugs.
4. Treat the prepared area with special healing putties.
   • Garden pitch based on wood resin or natural wax. Avoid formulations with refined products (gasoline, kerosene, tar, coal tar, etc.), they can do more harm than good.
   • Garden putty BlagoSad based on lanolin (fat obtained from sheared sheep’s wool).
   • Self-made putty made of equal parts of clay and mullein. Such a putty can not be used in a hot, dry season, because after drying, the clay will absorb moisture from the bark.

Important!

When clearing a crack, do not be afraid to cut off part of healthy tissues. They will overgrow. But rotten and dead remains of the bark and (or) wood, accidentally left in the wound, will be a source of infection and a hotbed of a new round of the disease.

White spots appear on the apricot trunk

Most likely, this is lichen. Lichens usually grow on old trees, although they may appear on relatively young trees. The tree bark for these organisms is only a platform for living, they receive moisture and minerals from the atmosphere with rains, fogs and dust for development.

Lichen often settles on old trees

There are two opposing points of view about whether lichens should be removed.

• One group of gardeners and specialists of various qualifications claims that lichens do no harm to trees, and also indicate a clean environment in the place of growth. And scraping them from a tree, the bark is inevitably damaged and harm is done. Therefore, they should not be deleted.
• Another, no less numerous group, expresses the exact opposite opinion. Lichens growing on the bark prevent the penetration of air into the air, create foci of high humidity and conditions for the appearance and development of fungal and viral diseases. And also under them can be hidden shields and other pests. And so lichens need to be removed.

Since there is no consensus and recommendations on this issue, everyone decides for himself whether to remove or not remove the lichen from the apricot.

For those who decide to remove the lichen that has appeared, it is recommended to do this as carefully as possible, using a sharp knife and nylon brushes. After removal, the surface of the cortex should be washed with a 5% solution of iron sulfate or another antiseptic. Whitewashing in the autumn of trunks with lime mortar significantly reduces the likelihood of lichens and mosses.

But it is not necessary that the white coating that appears on the bark is a lichen. Perhaps this is the appearance of a fungal disease. A distinctive feature will be the fact that the fungus usually affects simultaneously different parts of the plant - leaves, flowers, ovaries, fruits, shoots. Not all at the same time, but different. And if any fungus has been diagnosed, timely treatment of it with modern methods and drugs usually brings positive results.

Fungal Apricot Disease

Many plants undergo fungal diseases and apricot, unfortunately, is no exception.

The list of the main types of this class of diseases:

• Kleasterosporiosis (perforated spotting).
• Moniliosis.
• Cytosporosis.
• Curl of leaves.
• Verticillosis.
• Fusarium
• Scab and others

Methods of combating various fungal diseases, preventive measures and the drugs used are very similar.

Fight against kleasterosporiosis

Kleasterosporiosis is a fungal disease that affects all stone fruits. Apricots and peaches are especially severely and often affected by this disease. Another name for the disease is hole spotting. The causative agent hibernates in fallen leaves, the upper layer of soil, in the bark.

The disease begins and proceeds as follows:

1. Small dark spots appear on the leaves of the apricot.
2. Developing, the dots turn into rather large, round spots of red-brown, brown color.
3. Within two weeks, the inside of the spots dries and falls out, holes form.
4. Affected leaves turn yellow and fall.

In addition to leaves, kidneys and shoots are also affected. Affected kidneys do not open and fall. Lesions on the bark of the shoots look the same as on the leaves - growing spots, the formation of holes in the bark, causing the release of gum. In advanced cases, the tree may die.

Photo Gallery: Kleasterosporiasis

The fight against this disease primarily begins with prevention.

• Fallen leaves are collected and burned.
• Sick shoots are cut out (not forgetting to lubricate the places of cuts with garden varnish or putty) and also burn.
• In the late autumn digging near-trunk circles.
• In late autumn and / or early spring, in the period of lack of sap flow, they are treated with a 3% solution of Bordeaux fluid or copper sulphate.
• They try to use varieties relatively resistant to fungal diseases (Krasnoshchekoy, Pineapple, Hungarian best, etc.).
• During the season, it is advisable to spray trees with biofungicides (biological means of combating fungi). Quadrice and Horus have proven themselves well. They can be used to process trees even during fruiting (Quadris 5 days, Horus 7 days before picking berries). Due to the addiction of the fungus to the preparations, treatments are performed no more than three times each season. The interval is two weeks.

Recently, organic preparations have proven themselves to be highly effective, with high efficacy, a wide spectrum of action and low toxicity.

Table: Organic drugs for combating claustosporiosis and other diseases

Apricot moniliosis how to save a tree

Moniliosis or monilial burn is a fungal disease that affects leaves, flowers, shoots of a tree. Spores of the fungus winter in fallen leaves, shoots, on the bark. Primary infection usually occurs in spring, during flowering. Disputes with the wind, and more often with the help of bees, fall on a blossoming flower, through a pestle fall inside and further into the leaves and shoots. First, flowers twist and die, then leaves and shoots. The ends of the branches turn black, and also the leaves turn black and hang. Externally, the plant looks as if burnt.

When spring infection with moniliosis, flowers are first affected, then leaves and shoots of apricot

An inexperienced gardener can take the spring symptoms of infection with moniliosis for frostbite or excessive spring treatment with drugs.

The second form of damage manifests itself in the summer, in the form of gray rot, affecting the fruits, leaves and bark. The difference from other similar diseases is the chaotic arrangement of black dots on the surface of the fruit.

Preventive and therapeutic measures:

• Removal and destruction of fallen leaves, as well as affected fruits.
• Late autumn loosening of tree trunks.
• Cutting affected shoots with a portion of healthy wood 15-20 cm long or “under the ring”.
• Late autumn and early spring treatment with 3% solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
• Before swelling of the kidneys, a single treatment with DNOC or Nitrafen.
• Regular treatment during the season with biofungicides (Chorus, Quadris).
• Prevention of waterlogging, dampness.
• Avoiding thickened plantings and crowns.

Video: moniliosis

Apricot Pest Protection

Apricots, like other fruit plants, can be attacked by various insects - moths, leaf moths, aphids, ticks. In addition to insects, rodents - mice, hares, bring great harm to plants.

How to save an apricot if the mouse eaten the bark

First you need to determine the scale of the damage, and then choose the option of actions, which are very few.

• If the bark is nibbled completely and deeply, then, most likely, nothing can be done. You can try to cut the trunk almost to the ground. If you are lucky, a new shoot will grow from the root, which will become a new tree.
• If the bark is nibbled in a circle to a small height, there are two ways:
  • Vaccination with a bridge.
  • Transplant bark.
• If you are lucky and the cambial layer of the mouse is not touched, then you just need to wrap the damaged part of the trunk with electrical tape, stretch film or a bandage, laying sorrel leaves. In the autumn, the bandage is removed.

Cambium is a layer between the bark and wood, which is a conductor of juice.

What is cambium easier to show than to tell

How to inoculate a bridge

Step-by-step instruction.

1. Harvesting cuttings. Of course, it is better to prepare them in the fall, but then it was not yet known about the attack of rodents. Therefore, most likely, they will have to be cut in the spring, as soon as it became known of the disaster, before the sap flow begins. The donor tree variety does not matter. The length of the cuttings should be 10-15 cm longer than the length of the damaged area, the number of kidneys is also not important, they will still need to be removed. The larger the diameter of the trunk, the more grafts need to be grafted.
2. On the bark of the tree, on one side of the wound, T-shaped cuts are made with a sharp knife.
3. On the cuttings, oblique sections are made from both sides and inserted into the incisions so that the layers of cambium are compatible with each other. Shanks should be slightly curved by an arc.
4. Vaccination sites are lubricated with garden varnish or putty and tightly wrapped with electrical tape, fum tape, etc.
5. The crown is pruned by 30%.

This way you can save a tree nibbled by mice

How to transplant bark

Pretty exotic way, but sometimes applied. For it, you need a tree donor (it must be an apricot, you can wild), which is not a pity to sacrifice.

1. From a suitable material (thin cardboard, film, etc.) a template is cut according to the size of the damage.
2. According to the pattern, a patch is cut from the bark of the donor tree, which is carefully removed and quickly applied to the wound.
3. The patch is firmly fixed with tape, you can use small studs.
4. Smear the operation site with garden varnish or putty, wrap it with twine and ruberoid.
5. The crown is pruned.

Pests of Apricot Roots

Not many insects prefer to feed on the roots of trees, but still sometimes such lovers are found. Most often, the roots of young seedlings can be affected by pests, with which they feed on larvae of Khrushchev and weevils, wintering in the upper layers of the soil of tree trunks. If in late autumn digging the soil under the trees, turning the layers, the larvae will be on the surface and die from the cold.

Fighting the Khrushchev

There are a lot of varieties of Khrushchev. This is a flying bug ranging in size from 8-12 mm (April Khrushchev), to 35-38 mm (marble Khrushch). The most famous and well-known to everyone is the May bug. Khrushchev is omnivorous and, if not combated, can cause great damage to many plants in the garden.

Raspberries feed on plant roots

Methods of struggle:

• Early spring prophylactic treatment with insecticides (chemical insecticides) - decis, nitrafen, etc.
• Diazinon and preparations based on it are introduced into the soil for digging at the end of May-June, when the larvae are still in the upper soil layer. On 1 m² spend 10-20 g of Bazudin or 5-10 g of 10% Diazonin. The drug acts for 20 days, does not accumulate in plants.
• A very effective drug Marshall, with a prolonged effect (up to 17 months). But, due to its high toxicity, it should be used carefully and only in critical situations.
• You can place a small, warm, moist pile of humus or compost next to the tree. The larvae will be happy to settle there - it remains only in time to collect and destroy them.

Fight against weevils

Weevils are small (4-6 mm) beetles with an elongated proboscis.

Early spring weevil eats young leaves, buds, ovaries

There are many varieties of this insect. They can winter in the bark, fallen leaves, topsoils. In spring, they feed on young leaves, buds, flowers, fruits. In the beginning and in the middle of summer, eggs are laid in fruits, from which larvae hatch. Some species of weevils lay eggs in the soil and hatched larvae actively feed on young roots.

Weevil larvae hatching in the soil feed on young roots

How to fight:

• In early spring, when weevils emerged from shelters and settled in the apricot crown, you can collect them manually. To do this, in the morning, when the air temperature has not risen above + 5-7 ° C and the beetles are sleeping, a fabric or film is spread under a tree, on which insects are gently shaken. Then they are destroyed.
• Before the swelling of the kidneys, the tree is treated with insecticides.
• After flowering, if necessary, can be treated with drugs such as Fufanon, Actellik and others. 20 days before harvesting, processing is stopped.
• During egg laying, soil preparations based on diazonin can be used.
• In the fall, they remove and destroy fallen leaves, clean the damaged bark, and dig the soil with the onset of cold weather.

Apricot processing for diseases and pests

To prevent the occurrence of various diseases and pest attacks, preventive treatment of apricot is carried out. As a rule, the first treatment is carried out in late winter or early spring, before budding.

At this time, the tree is treated with one of the following drugs:

• DNOC is a complex, potent drug for combating fungi, ticks and insects. They process the tree once every three years. Apply a 1% solution at a temperature of 5 ° C, but not higher than 13 ° C.
• Nitrafen is a drug close to DNOC. For 10 liters of water add 200-300 g of the drug. Single processing.
• Decis is a broad spectrum isecticide. Dissolve 50 g in 5 liters of water. Consumption from 2 to 5 liters per tree. If necessary, re-processing is possible.
• And others are similar.

In spring and summer, especially after rains, it is advisable to treat with antifungal agents - Horus, Quadris, Fufanon, etc.

If, despite prevention, the apricot has undergone any disease or pest attack, they act on the basis of the situation in accordance with the recommendations for the particular case.

Gardeners Frequently Asked Questions

In the process of growing apricots, the gardener often encounters various problems and questions, a significant part of which is presented below.

Why apricot does not bloom

This is a fairly common problem that occurs due to several reasons.

• Features of the variety. Some varieties of apricot begin to bloom for 5-7 years after planting. Under adverse conditions, these periods may increase. Perhaps the time has not yet come for flowering.
• Wrong choice of place for landing. A tree growing in the shade will begin to bloom and bear fruit only when its crown rises to the sun. And it will bloom precisely on those branches that are lit by the sun.
• Unsuitable soil. Apricot will not bloom on acidified soils, it needs a slightly alkaline or neutral environment.
• Groundwater flooding, even short-term, is harmful to fruiting. With constant flooding, the tree will die.
• Freezing of fruit buds, which can occur during prolonged winter thaws or spring frosts.

Why do flowers fall from a blossoming apricot

Either diseased or unfertilized flowers fall.

During spring infection with moniliosis, as noted above, flowers are primarily affected and die.

If the apricot variety is not self-fertile, then the cause of falling flowers may be:

• Absence in sufficient proximity (up to 100 m) of a pollinator tree.
• There is a pollinator tree, but for some reason it does not bloom.
• Unfavorable weather (low temperature, strong wind), which reduces the activity of bees and other insects.

Why do apricots rot on a tree?

This can come from improper care and from diseases.

• Fungal diseases (kleasterosporiosis, moniliosis, scab, etc.) during the formation and ripening of fruits lead to their defeat and, as a result, to decay.
• Excessive watering. Apricot should be watered 2-3 times per season, and with enough rain, you need to completely abandon watering.
• An overdose of fertilizers also leads to cracking of the fruit and, as a result, to decay.
• Increased soil acidity.
  

  Rotting apricot berries on a tree can be caused by various reasons.

Why does not apricot grow

They planted an apricot, but it does not grow. Possible reasons:

• Discrepancy of the selected variety to the region of cultivation. Perhaps a seedling for the southern regions planted in the more northern.
• Late or fall landing. It is necessary to plant a seedling at rest, before the buds swell.
• Seedling of inadequate quality:
  • Age over two years.
  • Grown during supersaturation with nitrogen fertilizers.
  • Bad root system.
• Close occurrence of groundwater and flooding.
• Insufficient pruning during landing, due to which there was a slight increase. A weakened plant leaves in the winter, which it will not survive.

The ends of the apricot branches turned black in spring

This phenomenon has two reasons:

• The branches froze. Trim to healthy wood and treat with garden varnish or putty.
• Monilliosis infection. Branches cut into 15-20 cm healthy wood or "under the ring." The treatment of the disease is described above.

On the apricot, the branches dry after flowering

Most likely, this is the same moniliosis.

Why do flowers rust on an apricot tree

If brown spots appear on the flowers (rust), this can be caused by several reasons:

• The onset of a fungal disease, usually moniliosis.
• Insect attack, primarily weevil.
• Frosts.
• Burn from overdose of certain chemicals when spraying (for example, copper sulfate).

Why apricot does not bear fruit

Apricot fruiting does not occur in such cases:

• Apricot does not bloom. Considered above.
• It blooms, but the ovaries do not form and the flowers crumble. Considered above.
• It blooms, ovaries form, but they crumble.
  • Fruits formed on an un dusted tree (this is possible). But such fruits are inferior, the seed germ does not develop in them, and without its absence, the fetus, which, as a result, crumbles, does not develop.
  • An abnormally warm January contributed to the awakening of the kidneys. As a result, the pistils are damaged, which caused the fruit to fall.
  • The tree yielded a plentiful harvest in the previous year, depleted its strength, but did not receive enough nutrition to restore vitality.

Apricot is not the most capricious representative of garden crops. With proper agricultural technology, carrying out preventive and sanitary measures on time, the gardener rarely has to deal with the treatment of diseases. Caring for an apricot does not require much effort and is quite accessible to both an experienced and a beginner gardener. And modern, low-toxic drugs will relieve the invasion of pests and will allow you to get a decent harvest of sweet and healthy berries.