Plum diseases: description, plum treatment
All plum diseases manifest themselves in different ways. If you know the symptoms of diseases, then you can easily understand what the garden plum is sick with. And knowing which medicine is helping for a particular ailment, you can quickly begin treatment.
Clasterosporium or perforated spot… Fungal disease. Brown spots are formed on the tree, lighter on the inside and darker at the edges. Pale brown spots and holes appear on the leaves. The fruits stop growing in the affected areas, and their shape is deformed. During spring rains, the disease is especially active. The fungus lives in fallen leaves and scratches on branches.
Many plum diseases are easier to prevent than fight a progressive disease.
Plum bushiness or overgrowth. Fungal disease. On a diseased tree, thin short shoots grow in a bunch, unable to bear fruit. To get rid of the disease, the plant must be destroyed.
Gnomoniosis or brown spot… When a tree is affected by this fungus, brown spots appear on its leaves. With the development of the disease, small black dots can be seen on both sides of the leaves – these are fungal spores. The fruits do not ripen, and ripe plums acquire a gnarled shape.
Disinfection of garden tools before processing the plant will help to avoid many diseases.
Gum therapy. Drops of resin appear on the trunk. They flow through wounds that form due to frost, waterlogging of the soil or an excess of fertilizers. If the disease is not treated, more dangerous diseases can penetrate into the wounds.
Smallpox. At the first stage, lighter areas appear on the leaves. Then the diseased areas turn yellow. Ring-shaped depressed spots form on the fruit. The pulp becomes brown and is affected to the bone. Such fruits are unsuitable for food. The aphid is the carrier of the disease from other plants. Treatment for this disease is ineffective.
Plum treatment for diseases
An irreplaceable assistant against fungal diseases is Bordeaux liquid. In order to prevent ailments, she needs to spray trees several times a year:
- in the fall, after harvesting the leaves: the trunk circle and the ground part of the tree;
- in the spring, before bud break – the top of the trees;
- after flowering.
And if a disease is detected – immediately.
Another good remedy for treating trees from fungus is a soapy solution of copper sulfate. Thanks to the addition of soap to it, the infected areas are disinfected. Also, the soap solution adheres well to the bark and leaves.
Diseases appear due to insufficient tree care or improper planting. Viral and fungal diseases easily penetrate into a weakened tree. Disease prevention will help avoid them.