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The fight against insects and diseases is familiar to every summer resident and gardener. Unfortunately, without regular garden treatments it is impossible to get a good harvest and grow healthy trees and shrubs. Spraying of fruit trees begins in the very early spring, until the buds wake up and the juice moves. One treatment is not enough, so gardeners have to repeat spraying throughout the season. In order not to miss the moment and not harm the trees, it is recommended to make a schedule. And yet, it is very important to choose the right preparations that correspond to the season and the vegetation stage of the plants.
When and how to spray fruit trees in the spring from pests and diseases will be discussed in this article. Here the most popular preparations among gardeners will be considered, an approximate garden spraying schedule is given.
Why spring garden spraying is important
Experienced gardeners say that the first spraying of fruit trees carried out on time is the key to the future harvest and the health of the garden as a whole. The fact is that most pests, fungal spores and other infections overwinter on the tree itself: they hide in cracks in the bark, in buds, are located on the shoots of the plant, in dry leaves near the trunk circle.
As soon as it gets warmer outside, the larvae and spores will wake up and begin their life cycle. The task of the gardener is to stop the development of pests in time and destroy them at an early stage, until the breeding process begins.
Preparing the garden for cultivation
The first thing that trees and shrubs need is spring care. After a long winter in the garden, you need to put things in order:
- rake out last year’s foliage and burn it, because not only old infections hibernate there, but also insect larvae;
- walk along the bark of old trees with a metal brush to remove lichens and mosses, pest nests;
- identify hollows and large cracks, disinfect them and “fill” them;
- prune dry, frostbitten and damaged shoots;
- treat areas of the bark damaged by rodents;
- uproot old stumps, as a lot of fungal infections multiply in them;
- whitewash the trunks of fruit trees and near-stem branches;
- dig up or loosen the soil in the trunk circle.
Garden processing calendar
There is no definite answer to the question of when to spray fruit trees in spring, summer and autumn. The schedule for preventive work in the garden is developed taking into account the weather conditions in a particular region, so there is no real spraying calendar with dates and exact dates.
But every gardener can make approximate work plan consisting of the following important steps:
- The first treatment of fruit trees must be carried out before bud break, as soon as a stable positive temperature is established outside.
- At the stage of bud pecking, spraying must be repeated (this stage is called the “green cone”).
- The third time the trees are sprayed as soon as they begin to bloom – “on a rose bud.”
- After flowering, the garden is treated again using insect and rot repellents.
With the end of spring, preventive spraying of trees does not end: both in summer and in autumn, treatments are carried out several more times. In addition to the schedule, additional spraying may be necessary if insects or infections suddenly attack the garden.
Choice of means
In early spring, it is customary to spray fruit trees with chemicals. No matter how much the owner would like to secure his crop, until the temperature reaches +10 degrees, modern biological agents will not work.
As a “chemistry”, domestic gardeners usually choose inexpensive organic products, such as copper and iron vitriol, Bordeaux mixture, and urea. Later, they are joined by aggressive insecticides and safe biologics.
Copper sulfate
Often in the literature you can find the expression “blue spraying”, it means the treatment of the garden with copper sulphate and compositions based on it. Copper sulfate granules or powder must be dissolved in water. It is advisable to heat the water so that the substance dissolves better and faster.
The concentration of copper sulphate in the solution for spraying fruit trees depends on the processing time. In early spring, when the buds have not yet blossomed and sap flow has not begun, it is allowed to use a stronger concentrate for spraying – 3-4%.
The hot preparation must be cooled to room temperature and, before pouring it into a spray bottle, strain through a fine sieve or several layers of gauze.
Bordeaux liquid
A derivative substance for the preparation of which the same copper sulphate is used is Bordeaux liquid. This composition is very popular not only among gardeners, it is also in demand among summer residents and gardeners.
To prepare Bordeaux liquid, you need to take copper sulfate and slaked lime in equal proportions. As a rule, packages with these formulations already contain strictly weighed doses of active ingredients, so it will not be difficult to prepare Bordeaux spray liquid.
The action of Bordeaux liquid is softer and more effective than that of simple copper sulfate. Therefore, this composition can be used for the second spraying of trees. – “along the green cone”, that is, at the stage of bud break.
concentrated urea
Most often, gardeners and gardeners use carbamide (or urea) to feed their plants. Not everyone knows that a highly concentrated solution of urea is able to cope with most infections and larvae. That’s just the effect of such a drug can hardly be called harmless, so it is better to use it infrequently – at most once every three years.
Fruit trees and shrubs are processed “on black branches” when the buds have not yet begun to wake up – in early spring. To prepare a spray liquid, take 700 grams of carbamide and dissolve them in ten liters of warm water.
Spring spraying of fruit trees with urea gives a lot of advantages:
- a strong fungicide kills all microorganisms and spores, larvae, pupae and eggs of pests;
- a caustic chemical dissolves the chitinous shells of adult insects;
- organic matter nourishes the soil and trees with nitrogen (the content of which in urea reaches 46%);
- for 7-10 days, it slows down the opening of buds, which saves the tree from losing ovaries during the period of return frosts.
Urea is a universal and very effective remedy, but you should not get carried away with this drug in high concentrations (you can burn the plants). You can reduce the negative impact of urea if you add copper sulfate (about 100 grams) and a little soap (20-25 grams) to the recommended composition.
inkstone
Spring spraying can be done using affordable and cheap iron sulfate, but for this there must be a number of “indications”:
- The trees in the garden are old.
- Moss and lichens are present on the bark.
- Plants damaged by scab.
- In autumn, trees were not sprayed with iron sulphate.
Iron vitriol has a selective fungicidal effect, destroys spores and mycelium on the bark. In addition, the drug is also used for fertilizing the soil, because fruit trees often suffer from a lack of iron.
Young trees with thin bark are sprayed with a solution of 50 grams of iron sulfate and 10 liters of water. Depending on the thickness and condition of the bark, the dosage of vitriol for mature trees can be raised up to 100 grams.
Insekticidы
The second spraying of the garden will be required when the insects wake up and begin their movement in search of food. As a rule, aphids, leafworms, weevils and flower beetles are activated by the time the buds swell. Spraying at this time is called “green cone” treatment.
As long as the plant has no leaves, the chemicals cannot be absorbed into its organs. The most effective method of insect control is the use of insecticides. As long as you can use aggressive “chemistry”, you need to do it.
The following drugs are most popular:
- Karbofos;
- You decide;
- Canvas;
- Anabazin.
It is necessary to choose the drug that is most active against the pest of the last season.
In addition to insects, rot and fungal infections threaten the orchard at this stage, so it is recommended to combine insecticides with fungicidal antifungal agents.
Biology
Spring spraying with modern biological preparations is possible only when the thermometer stably shows +10 degrees. In a cooler environment, the bacteria from these compounds do not work and simply die.
Various biological preparations are able to infiltrate the digestive system of insects and caterpillars, sterilize pests, depriving them of the opportunity to reproduce, infect “living creatures” with infections and parasites. To enhance the effect of “biology”, it is recommended to combine the treatment with fungicidal agents.
Herbal infusions and decoctions are safe for plants in the garden, which can also be used to spray fruit trees. Typically, such a tool is used when “chemistry” is undesirable: after flowering and at the stage of formation of the ovary, during the period of fruit ripening.
The following herbs and their combinations are effective against insects and fungi:
- celandine;
- hemp;
- garlic;
- capsicum hot pepper;
- tansy;
- Paslan and others.
Conclusion
Spring spraying of the garden is an important stage in the care of fruit trees and shrubs. It is necessary to start garden work in the very early spring, as soon as the snow cover comes off the ground. For the prevention and treatment of the garden, you can use a variety of means: from inexpensive mineral compounds to the latest biological preparations that do not accumulate in fruits and allow you to grow an environmentally friendly crop.
