Plum diseases: photos and how to treat

If plum leaves curl, rot or a plaque of an incomprehensible color appears on them – this is the first signal to the gardener that measures must be taken immediately to treat the tree. Such signs indicate serious diseases that can not only destroy the entire crop, but also lead to the death of the tree itself.

However, no disease affects the entire plant at once, so timely treatment can prevent its death and stop the development of the disease.

How to identify plum disease

The first sign of a deviation from the normal state in a plum is gum disease. In itself, this disease is not, but indicates the presence of certain problems. The flow of gum, which many call resin, occurs in places where the plum bark is damaged, as well as when the soil is waterlogged or when excessive fertilizer is applied.

The second sign of the disease is the appearance on the leaves of plaque of different colors (brown, gray, red), as well as the modification of the leaves themselves. They begin to curl, turn yellow and fall off prematurely.

Plum fruits can also testify to the disease. If they crumble prematurely, change, become covered with bloom or rot – these are also signs of disease.

Why do plum leaves turn yellow?

There may be several reasons for this. Here is some of them:

1. Wrong choice of landing site. The leaves of the plum tree turn yellow in the spring, if the groundwater is quite high or the planting site is subject to regular flooding. Excess moisture can lead to such consequences. In summer, plum leaves turn yellow and due to insufficient sunlight, if the plant is planted in strong shade.
2. Lack of moisture. In dry times, the plant itself sheds part of the crown to reduce the evaporation of water from the surface of the leaves.
3. Root damage. If the plum root system is damaged by frost or rodents, it does not provide adequate nutrition for the leaves.
4. Lack of trace elements in the soil. In this case, the process of photosynthesis in the leaves does not proceed properly, and the plum leaf plate may turn yellow, redden or turn white.
5. Diseases. Fungal diseases that affect the plum appear as spots of various colors on the leaf. The affected leaf gradually turns brown and falls off.
6. Pests. Some insect pests feed on the juices of the leaves, which leads to their gradual yellowing and drying.

Often, several factors become the cause of yellowing of plum leaves. In this case, the disease develops more rapidly, and measures must be taken to save the tree immediately.

Why are there no leaves on the plum

The reason for the absence of leaves on the plum is most often the freezing of the tree. Plum often freezes in severe frosts. At the same time, the lower part of the trunk, wintering under the snow, as a rule, remains intact. It is often possible to observe how young shoots appear in a leafless tree in the lower part of the trunk in summer. This indicates that the plum root is intact.

If young shoots appear on the bole above the grafting site, then it is quite possible to reanimate the dried plum.

Why did the plum dry up

The reasons why the plum dries can be infectious and non-infectious factors. The first include fungal, viral and bacterial diseases, the second – various violations of the water balance, lack of nutrition or mechanical stress. This also includes damage to plum trees by various pests and low temperatures in winter.

If the plum blossomed and withered, the reason is most likely complex. The rapid course of the disease always indicates that there are several factors.

White coating on the plum

A whitish coating on the leaves of a plum tree is a sign of the appearance of a milky sheen. This is a fungal infection, the causative agents of which live in the cracks in the bark. The disease can appear after the plant freezes in winter, as well as in spring and autumn in conditions of high humidity.

A milky sheen may appear on grafted plums due to poor fusion of the stock and scion, as well as due to mechanical damage to the plum.

holes in plum leaves

The appearance of numerous holes on the leaf plates of the plum is a sign of infection with her klesterosporiosis, or perforated spotting. Numerous holes on the leaves of the plum – this is the second stage of the lesion, on the first stage the leaves are covered with small black rounded spots. After 10–12 days, the leaf in place of the spots is completely destroyed and characteristic small holes are formed.

Over time, the disease progresses, moving to the fruits and shoots.

Plum leaves are falling

Premature fall of leaves at the plum indicates a strong degree of damage to the tree by some disease. The leaves do not fall green, first they curl and turn yellow. It is at this stage that you need to recognize the disease or cause and start treating the plum as soon as possible.

Why do plum leaves curl?

The most common reason why plum leaves curl up is the infestation of its pests, namely aphids. This is easy to check by unfolding the rolled sheet. Surely there will be a whole cluster of these microscopic insects inside. Each of them feeds on the sap of the tree, piercing the leaf plate and sucking it out of the leaf tissues.

The aphid colony multiplies rapidly, growing exponentially. If urgent measures are not taken, soon the whole tree will simply remain without leaves and, accordingly, without fruits.

In addition to aphids, the causes of curling plum leaves can be:

1. Chlorosis.
2. Verticillosis.
3. Freezing.
4. Root diseases.

In addition to the above, the reasons may be: lack of trace elements in the soil, excess nitrogen.

Why do plums rot on a tree

Rot is a fungal disease that is inherent not only in plums, but also in other fruit trees. Plums rot on a tree due to dense plantings, a humid climate and violation of the rules of agricultural technology.

There are two types of rot: fruit and gray. Both of them are dangerous. If the affected fruits are not removed from the tree in time, they become constant sources of infection. Gradually, the spores of the fungus will be spread by water and wind to other plums, as a result, the crop may be almost completely lost.

Why did plum branches turn black

Blackened plum shoots indicate the defeat of the tree by moniliosis. Its variety is the previously mentioned fruit rot. Its other variety, monilial burn, affects branches and leaves. The infection enters the plant tissue through the flower pistils.

Spreading, the disease causes the death of shoots and leaves, which turn black and look like charred.

Plum diseases: description and treatment

All diseases from which the plum in the garden suffers or dies can be divided into three groups: infectious, fungal and bacterial. Most of them affect not only plums, but also other fruit trees, so the methods of prevention and methods of treating infected trees are largely universal.

Plum Gum Treatment

Cracks in the bark of the plum, through which the gum flows, are open gates for the penetration of fungi and infections. In addition, constant gum treatment quite strongly weakens and depletes the tree. A sharp knife is used to remove the gum. They cut off the resin on the drain, capturing 5 mm of healthy tissue. After that, the cut is disinfected with a 1% solution of copper sulphate and smeared with a mixture of mullein and clay (1: 1).

Plum leaf curl

Curly is a fungal disease of plums. Manifested in the characteristic twisting of the leaves. The leaves, and then the plum shoots, are deformed. The affected leaves subsequently fall off, the fruits on the affected shoots are not tied, the ones that have started are severely deformed and become inedible.

To treat curly plum leaves, preventive spraying of trees with Bordeaux mixture, as well as Scor or Abiga-Peak preparations is carried out before and after flowering with an interval of 2 weeks. Deformed leaves and shoots of plum must be destroyed without fail.

How to treat perforated plum spot

Clasterosporiasis is a fungal disease. To prevent its occurrence, crown thickening should be prevented, and sanitary pruning of the tree should be carried out in a timely manner. From the fungus, the plum is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, as well as Abiga-Peak, Horus, Granuflo or Plantenol preparations. Processing is done once, usually before bud break.

Plum bushiness or sprouting

Often this fungal disease is also called “witch’s broom.” On the affected tree, thin short shoots begin to grow in bunches, on which fruits never form. The tree itself ceases to bear fruit.

“Witch’s brooms” must be cut and burned. Prevention is spraying plum trees with Bordeaux liquid in early spring.

Treatment of plum moniliosis

To prevent moniliosis in plum trees, they are treated twice a season with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid: in spring, before the buds open, and in autumn, after the leaves fall. Instead of Bordeaux liquid, you can use the drug Hom or a solution of copper oxychloride. Infected fruits must be removed and destroyed, affected plum shoots must be cut and burned.

Verticillosis

Verticillium wilt, or wilt, is a disease caused by soil fungi. The affected tree begins to dry from below, gradually causing the entire tree to wither up to the very top. Sometimes the fungus infects only part of the tree, leaving the other part untouched.

Wilt treatment consists in repeated (4-5 times) treatment of the tree with fungicides or a solution of preparations containing copper. It is also necessary to take a number of preventive measures to prevent and prevent the spread of the fungus. It is noticed that verticillium does not appear on sandy soils with a neutral reaction. Since the pathogen fungus lives in the soil, special attention should be paid to the condition of the tree trunks and kept clean.

Dwarfism

This is a viral disease that affects not only plums, but also other stone fruit trees. Usually, it can be noticed only at the last stage, when the tree sharply reduces flowering and fruiting, the leaves become thinner, become brittle and fly around prematurely. Tree growth stops. There is no cure for the disease, and it will no longer be possible to save the drying plum. The affected tree is uprooted and burned.

This disease is transmitted along with a dirty tool for pruning trees and with parasitic insects. Infected seedlings can also be sources of infection. Therefore, special attention should be paid to high-quality seed material, garden tools should be regularly processed and disinfected.

Treatment of plum chlorosis

Chlorosis is not an independent disease, it has no pathogens. Chlorosis is a consequence of a lack of iron in the soil. If the plant does not receive this microelement for a long time, its leaves lose their green color, turn yellow or white, and then turn brown and fall off. To combat chlorosis, plants are sprayed with preparations containing iron: Agricola, Antichlorosis, Ferrilen.

You can also independently prepare an aqueous solution based on iron sulfate. Its concentration is made 0,5% and the trees are sprayed with this solution.

Plum coccomycosis: cause and treatment

At the beginning of summer, a whitish coating may appear on the reverse side of the plum leaves, and small reddish spots on the upper plate. These are signs of coccomycosis, a fungal disease that mainly affects plum leaves. Most often, the disease manifests itself in warm, humid weather. To prevent its occurrence, trees are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid.

It is also important to prevent thickening of the branches so that the air exchange inside the crown does not deteriorate. Affected plum leaves and shoots should be cut off and burned. The same should be done with fallen leaves, in which fungus spores hibernate.

plum fungus

This is a fungus that settles in cracks in the bark of a tree and destroys the wood. At the site of the lesion, fruiting bodies of fungi gradually form, which look like growths on the trunk of a plum. You can protect the tree from the appearance of tinder fungus with a solution of copper sulfate, which needs to disinfect all damage to the plum bark.

The fruit bodies of the tinder fungus also need to be cut off, and the cut points should be treated with copper sulphate and sealed with cement mortar.

How to treat rust on a drain

Often in the middle of summer, reddish-brown spots begin to appear on plum leaves, resembling rust spots in color. The disease affects the leaves of the tree, which fall prematurely. The winter hardiness of the plant also decreases.

As a preventative measure against rust, the trees are sprayed with copper chloride before and after flowering, and after harvesting with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid.

Plum red spot

Otherwise, this fungal disease is called polystigmosis. The leaves affected by the disease are covered with red-orange spots that become convex. An infected plum does not accumulate enough plastic substances during the season, which greatly reduces the number of flowers and plum ovaries for the next year.

To combat red spotting, preventive spraying of plums is carried out in early spring, before bud break, and in autumn, at the end of leaf fall. As an active substance, a 3–4% solution of Bordeaux mixture is used. With an unfavorable prognosis, the treatment is repeated twice more, after flowering and after another two weeks.

Plum pockets

A disease caused by a fungus that affects only the fruit. Affected plums look swollen, their ripening stops. A white coating appears on the surface. Then the fruit becomes moldy and falls off, but sometimes it becomes mummified and remains hanging on a branch, remaining a source of infection.

If the disease is not treated, up to 70% of the plum crop can be lost. For prevention, trees are sprayed in early spring with a 4% solution of Bordeaux liquid, repeating the treatment before and after flowering. And you can also use fungicidal preparations Horus or Switch.

Treatment of nectria on the plum

Nectric necrosis is a serious fungal disease that causes the death of branches. Recognize it simply by the characteristic red pads on the bark of the tree. The spores of the fungus are usually spread by rainwater or insects, causing new foci of infection.

The fungus penetrates deep into the wood, so the affected branches only need to be cut and burned. For prevention, trees are treated with copper-containing preparations in spring.

Scab on plum bark

Scab is a dangerous infectious disease that affects all parts of the tree. Scab on plum fruits can be recognized by characteristic olive-colored spots covered with a velvety coating. Sometimes the lesion looks like a black spot outlined by a light rim. When a scab appears on the bark of a tree, it cracks, swells and bursts, which leads to the death of the shoot.

The development of the disease is facilitated by high humidity and thickening of plantings. Trees should be regularly inspected and affected fruits removed. For prevention, plants are treated three times per season (in early spring, after flowering and two weeks later) with Tsemeb, Kuprozon or Bordeaux liquid 1%.

Black plum cancer: symptoms and treatment

This disease on the plum is quite rare. The fungus that causes the disease enters the cracks in the bark, where it develops. In this place, the shoot swells, the bark bursts, the wood in this place turns black. When a bole or skeletal branches are affected by black cancer, the tree, as a rule, dies.

When detected, infected branches must be cut and destroyed. From the stem at the site of the lesion, the bark and part of the affected wood are peeled off to healthy layers. The cut point is disinfected with copper sulphate, and then painted over with oil paint on natural drying oil or smeared with garden varnish. For prevention, trees are sprayed with the same preparations as for scab.

How to treat gray rot on a plum

Gray rot is a very common fungal disease of plums. Contribute to its development sudden changes in temperature.

Affected shoots must be cut and burned, and the tree should be treated with Hom or copper oxychloride before and after flowering.

Plum pox (sharka)

This dangerous viral disease can completely destroy the plum crop, and then the tree itself. Smallpox appears, as a rule, first on the leaves, on which chlorosis spots appear, clearly visible in the light. Then the fruits are also affected, on which black spots, rings and stripes appear.

Smallpox is transmitted with planting material, by vaccination or through a bone. There is no cure for it, only uprooting and complete destruction. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing the entire garden.

The carrier of the virus is also aphid. Therefore, it is important to prevent the appearance of these insects on plums by taking preventive measures in time.

sooty fungus

Sooty fungus is also associated with aphids. The secretions of these insects are the nutrient medium on which the fungus settles. You can detect it by a black spot on the leaves, resembling fine coal dust. Developing, the fungus clogs the pores of the leaf, which leads to its death.

You can prevent the development of the fungus by systematically fighting aphids. When these insects appear, plants are treated with Horus, Strobi, Fury and others.

Lichen on a plum tree

Lichen can also do a lot of damage to the plum, so you need to get rid of it. This is usually done in early spring, before the buds open. At this time, parts of the plum tree affected by lichen are treated with iron sulfate 5%. After a week, moss and lichen will fall off the tree on their own, but the remnants can simply be wiped off with a piece of coarse cloth.

Plum pests and their control + photo

Among insects, there are many pests that want to feast on both fruits and other parts of the plum tree. Some of them are quite dangerous, and can seriously complicate the life of a gardener.

Plum moth

The greyish-brown small butterfly is one of the main plum pests. The butterfly itself does not feed on fruits; its caterpillar damages the fruits. One butterfly can lay up to 40 eggs in different plums. Hatching, the caterpillars continue to feed on the pulp of the fruit for about a month, literally eating the fruit from the inside, after which they descend to the tree trunks to winter.

Codling moths fight butterflies by spraying with biological compounds (Fito-Verm, Iskra Bio), chemicals (Fufanon, Decis, Karbofos), as well as various pheromone traps. Spraying against the pest with infusions of tansy, chamomile, and even wood ash is also practiced.

Plum Tube Roller

In another way, this weevil-like insect is also called the plum elephant. It is also a dangerous pest.

The female tubeworm lays her eggs directly on the leaf plate, partially cutting it, and the hatched larvae roll it into a tube.

Over time, damaged plum leaves dry out and fall off. To combat this pest, trees are sprayed with Actellik, Metaphos, Karbofos and others. The first treatment must be done before flowering.

gall mite

An insect pest is a microscopic mite that damages the shoots of the first year of life by sucking the juice out of them. In places of sucking, tubercles of red color are formed – galls, in them there are female ticks. Lack of nutrients leads to the drying of the affected shoots.

The leaves and shoots of the plum, on which the galls are located, must be cut off and burned. Immediately after flowering, the plants should be sprayed against the pest with karbofos or a colloidal solution of sulfur 1%. Spraying is repeated after 2 weeks.

Ants on the plum: harm and how to get rid of it

Again, aphids are to blame for the appearance of ants on the plum. It is the secretions of this pest (pad) that are a delicacy for ants. Therefore, the latter use it as a kind of dairy cows, protecting the aphids in every possible way and transferring them from place to place, in fact organizing a kind of farm. If eaten green buds are found on the plum, the reason may also be in the ants. Insect colonies living in the ground can severely damage plum roots.

To block access to the tree trunk for ants, various mechanical barriers are used, for example, grooves with water. Often they are made from old car tires, cut lengthwise and filled with water. Various trapping belts, smeared with glue, are attached to the tree trunk. Sometimes plum trunks are coated with tar.

If ants have already appeared on the tree, spraying the plum with a solution of laundry soap mixed with kerosene and carbolic acid (400 g, 10 and 2 tablespoons per bucket of water, respectively) can help. The treatment of trees with wormwood infusion also helps to get rid of ants on the drain.

Aphids appeared on the plum: what to do

Aphids are a very dangerous pest that can cause serious damage to the garden, affecting not only plums, but also other fruit trees. Aphid colonies feed on cell sap, which causes the leaves on the plum to curl, turn yellow and die. In addition, aphids secrete a waste product – honeydew, which forms a sticky coating on plum leaves that clogs pores and attracts ants.

It is completely difficult to get rid of it, but it is quite possible to reduce the pest population to an insignificant one. The key to a successful fight against aphids is cleanliness. The tree should not have dry and diseased branches, and the trunk circle should be clean.

To combat aphids, chemical and bacteriological agents are widely used. These are insecticides Fury, Karbofos, Confidor. Biopreparations that are harmless to the environment include Fitoverm.

Aphids are able to adapt to the chemicals used. Each repeated use of the same drug against this pest reduces the effectiveness of its use at times. Therefore, it is important to constantly alternate them.

Plum sawfly

The plum sawfly is a hymenopteran pest. The danger is primarily its larvae that develop inside the fruit. If you do not take action, you can lose up to 80% of the crop.

To combat these insect pests, various measures are used. A good effect is given by digging up plum circles in the pre-winter period. Before flowering, the tree can be periodically shaken off on a pre-spread oilcloth, and then the resulting “harvest” can be destroyed. An effective remedy is the treatment of tree trunks with infusion of wood ash.

There are many other methods of dealing with the plum sawfly. This is spraying with various chemicals and folk remedies. The most commonly used drugs are Karbofos, Metaphos. From folk remedies, infusions of chamomile, wormwood and burdock are widely used.

Butterfly leaflet

Leafworm caterpillars can cause significant damage to the crop. They eat the leaves, twist them into tubes with the help of cobwebs, and also spoil the fruits.

They fight leaflets by spraying Decis or Karbofos preparations. Hanging on cobwebs with pest caterpillars are collected and destroyed.

Hawthorn

Caterpillars of the hawthorn butterfly feed on young green leaves and plum buds, causing significant damage to the tree. A large population of pest caterpillars can completely destroy all the greenery of a tree.

Pest control begins in early spring. At this time, you need to inspect the trees, remove and destroy all the spider nests in which the larvae overwinter. In early spring, the plum is sprayed with a solution of urea and copper sulfate. During the mass departure of butterflies, they are destroyed manually in the morning, while they are inactive.

To combat hawthorn, insecticides are also widely used: Accord, Inta-Vir, Fury. Biological agents can also be used: Bitoxibacillin or Actofir.

How to deal with the shield on the drain

Scale insects are pests that suck juice from plants, including plums. Finding them visually is quite difficult, especially when they are small. Often they visually look like small bumps or small bumps on the trunk of the plum.

In addition to the fact that scale insects suck the juice from the plum, they, like aphids, secrete honeydew – a decomposition product that is a breeding ground for the development of fungi.

It is difficult to get rid of scale insects without insecticides. The most effective against this pest are Aktara, Confidor, Aktellik and some others. They are sprayed with plants after the appearance of buds.

How to process a plum from flies

Plum (cherry) flies appear on the plum quite often. The larvae of this pest, developing inside the fruit, can destroy a significant part of the crop.

To combat flies, spraying with insecticides is used: Spark, Fufanon, Karate. Processing should be done at least twice with an interval of 2-3 weeks. Preparations must be alternated, as the fly adapts quickly.

Preventive measures

The most effective measure to prevent diseases and the appearance of pests on the drain is to maintain cleanliness. Regular sanitary pruning of plums, keeping the near-stem circle clean, timely watering, top dressing and other agrotechnical work significantly reduce the likelihood of diseases and pests. The same applies to garden tools. All knives, secateurs, loppers should be disinfected regularly.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why plum leaves curl or unripe fruits fall off. And this is not always associated with a plum disease or an invasion of pests. Therefore, you need to constantly keep the situation under control, monitor the condition of the trees, and perform all the necessary work to care for the garden. Then the plums will not remain in debt and will generously bestow an excellent harvest.