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Sea buckthorn diseases and pests can negate all the gardener’s efforts to obtain a good harvest of the berries of this shrub. Although the plant has good immunity, it can often suffer due to violations of agricultural technology or bad weather conditions. This article talks about the diseases and pests of sea buckthorn and the fight against them, as well as the prevention of their occurrence.
Symptoms of sea buckthorn disease
Sea buckthorn diseases are recognized by many signs. Since most of the infections affecting this plant are fungal, they can be detected visually. Signs of the onset of the disease include:
- Yellowing, blackening, premature wilting and leaf fall.
- Changing the color of the bark of a tree, the appearance of spots, plaque, mold, foci of rot on it.
- Premature fall of berries, change in their consistency, drying out, decay.
- The appearance of growths, neoplasms.
Sea buckthorn diseases and their control
It is very important to see and recognize the disease in time. In this case, sometimes you can get by with sanitary measures and save the tree from death. The main diseases of sea buckthorn with a photo are listed below.
destroyed
This disease, otherwise called stegmina, can completely kill a sea buckthorn bush in a few seasons. You can detect it by numerous black spots on leaves, young branches and berries.
Usually, due to this disease, up to half of the crop is lost in the first season. After winter, part of the shrub may be dried up, and after 3-4 years the whole plant will die.
At the first sign of the appearance of scab in sea buckthorn, you need to cut off and burn all the affected leaves and shoots, in the fall collect and burn all the fallen leaves. In the spring, before the start of the growing season, the bushes should be sprayed with a 3% solution of nitrafen.
Endomycosis
Endomycosis is a fungal disease of sea buckthorn fruits. It usually appears in the first half of August. Affected berries soften and become watery. Then their shell is torn. The contents of the fruit, together with the spores of the fungus, are carried by water to healthy berries, infecting them as well.
To protect against endomycosis, sea buckthorn bushes are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture or 0,4% copper chloride solution.
stem rot
The causative agent of stem rot is a tinder fungus, the spores of which live and multiply in the bark. Affected wood begins to exfoliate along the growth rings, so the disease is also called white ring rot. Infection occurs through damage to the cortex.
To combat the fungus, it is necessary to remove the affected branches in a timely manner. All sections and damage to the bark of sea buckthorn must be treated in a timely manner with a solution of copper sulfate and painted over with oil paint.
As a preventive measure, before bud break, sea buckthorn is treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or analogues (Abiga-Peak, HOM).
Ulcerative necrosis of the cortex
The causative agent of the disease is a fungus that develops in the bark of a tree. A growth appears at the site of the lesion, which then bursts along and opens.
The spores of the fungus enter new areas of the bark and infect them. As the fungus develops, the trunk dries up and dies. Lesions on young shoots of sea buckthorn are stronger and more numerous, in this case the plant is likely to die.
Measures for the prevention and treatment of this disease are the same as for stem rot. The growths are cut off by treating with copper sulphate. In spring, the plants are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.
Nectrium necrosis
The fungus that causes this disease affects the bark of sea buckthorn. You can recognize it by the red spore pads located along the shoot. The shoot affected by the fungus eventually dries up and dies.
They must be removed. As a preventive measure, shrubs are sprayed in early spring with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or analogues.
Alternariosis of sea buckthorn bark
This is a fungal disease that primarily affects the bark of sea buckthorn. You can recognize it by the black velvet bloom that appears on the shoots in wet weather. The abundance of precipitation leads to the rapid development of the disease, the leaves turn brown and fall off, the branches dry up and die. This is especially pronounced on the lower tier of shrubs with dense plantings, as well as on young trees.
Prevention is the timely work on sanitary pruning of sea buckthorn, thinning of plantings, removal of affected areas of branches. Be sure to process and disinfect sections.
In early spring and autumn, the shrub is treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid to prevent the disease.
brown spotting
First of all, the pathogen fungus affects the leaves of sea buckthorn, on which brown spots of irregular shape appear. In the future, they quickly merge with each other. On dead tissue, over time, pycnidia become clearly visible – black dots with the fruiting bodies of the fungus. Later they appear on the fruits and bark of the shoots.
Measures to prevent the onset of the disease are the same as for other fungi. In early spring, sea buckthorn bushes should be sprayed with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture, if necessary, repeat the treatment in the fall. All parts of the plant affected by the fungus must be removed and burned.
Septoria spotting
Septoria is manifested in the appearance on the upper leaf plate of rounded brown spots surrounded by a colorless ring. Over time, pycnidia form in them. The diseased plant flies around in August, shoots and berries, as a rule, do not ripen. The frost resistance of sea buckthorn is sharply reduced.
Preventive measures are the same as for brown spotting.
Fusarium wilt
The appearance of a fungus of this species leads to the complete withering of the plant. It affects the shoots of sea buckthorn, the leaves dry up on them, the fruits do not ripen, although they acquire a characteristic color.
Affected branches should be cut and burned.
Verticillary wilting
Verticillosis is a fungal disease that affects not only sea buckthorn, but also other horticultural crops. Symptoms of damage are a slowdown in the development of the plant, its premature drying and wilting, as well as the presence of a large amount of root rot.
There is no cure for the disease. The infected plant must be dug up and burned.
Blackleg
A disease caused by soil fungi affects seedlings. The subcotyloid knee becomes thinner at the point of contact with the soil. The sea buckthorn stalk simply rots and it falls to the ground.
To prevent the development of the disease, a young plant is recommended to be planted in a nutrient substrate consisting of sand and soddy soil (1: 1). In addition, once a week, seedlings are carefully watered with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Black Cancer
The fungus that causes this sea buckthorn bark disease can be recognized by the characteristic black spots on the trunk. Over time, the affected bark cracks and flies around, the wood under it also turns black. The spots gradually increase, merging with each other and forming ulcers. The development of diseased sea buckthorn bushes is greatly slowed down.
To combat the fungus, diseased areas are cleaned and treated with a mixture of clay, mullein and a solution of copper sulfate.
heterosporiosis
The fungus that causes this disease affects not only sea buckthorn, but also more than 140 species of other plants, including:
- cereals;
- fodder grasses;
- lilac;
- flowers (irises, nasturtiums, orchids).
The disease appears on the reverse side of the leaves in the form of dark spots with a purple border. Over time, they grow, merge and the leaf dies completely.
Often, the fungus also settles on the bark of the shoot and sea buckthorn berries, forming a brown or brown-olive coating. If found, leaves and affected branches should be cut and burned.
fruit rot
This disease is caused by a fungus. It affects sea buckthorn berries, which under its influence become soft, flabby, begin to flow over time, blacken and dry out. Remaining on the branches, mummified fruits are a constant source of disease.
Prevention of the development of the fungus consists in spraying sea buckthorn bushes with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture in spring and autumn. Dried berries must be removed from the branches and burned.
A set of preventive measures against sea buckthorn diseases
The vast majority of sea buckthorn diseases are fungal infections. They thrive best in conditions of high humidity and temperature. Therefore, the general rule is sanitary care for sea buckthorn, cleaning fallen leaves, thinning plantings, pruning dry, broken and diseased branches. It is also not necessary to allow stagnation of water in the roots.
An important step in the prevention of the development of fungi is also spraying sea buckthorn plantings. This is done in early spring, before the start of the growing season, and in autumn, after the leaves have fallen. For processing, a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid or its analogues is used. After the trimming procedure, all sections must be treated with a solution of copper-containing preparations, and then painted over with a natural-based oil paint. This will prevent the development of infection.
Sea buckthorn pests and their control
Like many garden crops, sea buckthorn is often attacked by pests. To get a good harvest, it is necessary to take measures to protect and prevent their occurrence. The most common sea buckthorn pests are presented in the review.
Aphid sea buckthorn
Aphids are microscopic insects that are light green, black, or brown in color. Lives on leaves and young shoots, feeds on their cell sap. Damaged vegetative organs become sticky, curl up, turn yellow and fall off, aphids form large clusters and can cause significant damage to the green mass.
Spraying the bushes with a solution of laundry soap is considered an effective measure against aphids. In addition, various insecticides are used, for example, a 10% solution of karbofos.
Sea buckthorn sucker
A small insect whose larvae live in the buds and on the leaves of sea buckthorn. During the development period, the larva of the sucker goes through five stages, gradually moving from sea buckthorn buds to the back of the leaf. It feeds on cell sap, making punctures in the leaves. They begin to turn yellow and eventually dry out.
At the beginning of spring, complex spraying of bushes from pests with Fufanon, Aktelik, etc. is carried out. During the season, if necessary, the treatment can be repeated, taking into account the waiting period.
sea buckthorn moth
This is a small (up to 1,8 cm wingspan) butterfly of gray color with shiny scales. Moths lay their eggs in the root zone of the sea buckthorn bush, at the beginning of summer caterpillars hatch from them and crawl onto the shoots. At first they feed on buds, as they grow, they pull together 5–6 apical sheets into an arachnoid knot, in which they live, nibbling the leaf blades. Having finished the cycle, the caterpillars descend into the soil, where they then pupate.
To combat caterpillars during their exit, the bushes are sprayed with Inta-Vir, Iskra and others. With a large number of spider nests, the treatment is repeated.
sorrel bug
It is also called bordered edge. Insect brown in color with a red-brown upper part of the abdomen. The larva of the bug is similar to an adult insect. Both mature individuals and larvae feed on the juice of sea buckthorn and other plants, sucking it out of leaves, buds, young shoots, which leads to their withering. In large numbers, they can cause serious damage.
Spraying from ticks and other pests is carried out in early spring. To do this, use the drugs Fufanon, Kemifos, etc.
Pheidenitsa
Moths are large (up to 6 cm) brown caterpillars with yellow spots. Appear during flowering and are on the bushes until autumn. They feed on leaves. With a large accumulation, they can destroy the entire crown of a sea buckthorn tree.
To combat caterpillars, spraying with various insecticidal preparations is used. Against wintering insects, trunk circles are dug up before the onset of frost.
spider mite
The spider mite is a microscopic insect, and it can be visually detected only by the web, with which the mite braids the leaves or with a magnifying glass. It feeds on the juice of buds and young leaves of sea buckthorn and other garden plants. Lays eggs inside the leaf plate. Can cause serious harm to sea buckthorn.
To combat the tick, it is necessary to use special means – acaricides. They are processed three times with an interval of 2 weeks. In this case, it is possible to destroy not only the tick itself, but also its larvae. Acaricidal preparations include Aktelik, Fitoverm and others.
gall mite
Insect worm-shaped, white, up to ¼ mm in size. The larvae are white. Adults hibernate in the kidneys, from spring they begin to suck the juice out of them. During the breeding season, the mites come out on the leaves. In the place of egg laying, galls are formed – thickenings up to 0,5 cm in diameter, inside which the larvae grow and develop.
From the gall mite, sea buckthorn is sprayed with Fitoverm, Karbofos and others. The first is considered the most effective, for 100% death of the tick, one treatment is enough.
Omnivorous leafworm
Brown-red or brown butterfly with a wingspan of up to 2,5 cm. Caterpillar up to 2 cm, green, with a dark back. On a tree, it rolls one or more leaves into a tube. It feeds on leaves, fruits and flowers. Can cause significant harm. Lives not only on sea buckthorn, but also on many other cultures.
For prevention, sea buckthorn is sprayed with Karbofos preparations or its analogues. Processing is done in early spring and immediately after flowering. If necessary, spraying can be repeated at a later date, taking into account the waiting time.
sea buckthorn fly
The most dangerous pest of sea buckthorn, capable of spoiling the entire crop. It is a flying insect that looks like a fly 3,5-5 mm in size with translucent brownish stripes on the wings. Pests lay their eggs in green sea buckthorn berries. The hatched larva literally gnaws the fruits from the inside, making moves in the pulp.
To combat the sea buckthorn fly, both chemical and folk remedies are used. Of the latter, these are:
- Spraying with infusion of tansy.
- Covering the near-stem circle with turf to prevent the emergence of flies.
- Mulching or covering the near-stem circle with a film.
Of the chemicals, the most commonly used drugs are Iskra, Fitoverm or Inta-Vir.
Measures to protect sea buckthorn from pests
Diseases and pests of sea buckthorn do not appear just like that. Therefore, it is always necessary to remember that the best protection is the prevention of their occurrence. To reduce the likelihood of damage to sea buckthorn by pests, it is necessary to take sanitary measures in time (pruning, cleaning fallen leaves, destroying diseased areas of the bush). It is very important to dig up the trunk circle for the winter, in which most pests and their larvae hibernate.
When pests appear, protective measures must be taken immediately. Some species of insects are capable of producing more than one generation of offspring in a season, so their reproduction can occur exponentially. The sooner you start pest control, the more likely you are to save the sea buckthorn crop, or at least part of it.
Conclusion
Sea buckthorn diseases, like pests, can not only destroy the crop, but also kill the plant itself. Do not neglect protective and preventive measures. This will allow you to get a good harvest of sea buckthorn and keep the health of not only the tree, but also the gardener himself for a long time.