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Harvesting in the fall, we, in fact, reap the fruits of our labors. There is a category of summer residents for whom care for plants ends immediately after harvest. But we will focus on conscious gardeners. The garden requires the closest attention before winter rest. The queen of the orchard is the apple tree. How important is processing apple trees in the fall? What drugs to use, and against what objects it is advisable to fight in the fall?
Why carry out processing when the apples are already harvested
This simple question can still be confusing. Of course, it will no longer be possible to improve the quality of the harvested crop if the apples are damaged by the codling moth or affected by scab. But if harmful objects were noted on the apple tree, can we hope that next year they will not be?
Attentive care of apple trees in autumn includes a whole range of measures aimed at increasing winter hardiness, reducing the amount of infectious onset (infection) and destroying wintering swarms of the pest.
If autumn prevention is neglected, then next year, under favorable conditions for the pest, mass destruction of apple trees can be expected. And then it will be difficult to save the crop. In autumn, phytosanitary treatment of apple trees protects the future harvest from a complex of diseases and pests.
Activities not to be missed
Autumn garden protection activities can be divided into two types:
- treatment with chemicals;
- physical and mechanical means.
Both types are equally important and give the result in a complex. Immediately after picking apples, pest control is activated. Spraying should be carried out at the beginning of the fall of the apple tree until the night temperature drops, until the pests have fallen into deep suspended animation (diapause).
After leaf fall, examine the trees for signs of disease on the bark of large branches and trunk (cytosporosis, black cancer). Local treatments may be required. To kill powdery mildew spores, brown spot and scab, spray the apple tree with fungicides.
Do not skip the autumn sanitary pruning of apple trees. It is especially important for an adult fruit-bearing garden. Apple pruning is carried out after leaf fall and until late autumn. Fallen leaves and carrion are a source of infection and a wintering place for pests. Plant residues, along with cut diseased branches, must be burned.
Lichen and tinder fungus also need to be fought by peeling and cutting off branches. They take away a lot of strength from a tree and reduce its winter hardiness and immunity. After lichen, local treatment with iron sulphate (3%) is required, and after tinder fungus, treatment with copper sulphate (5%).
The final procedure is the whitewashing of the trunk and the bases of the skeletal branches. This treatment allows you to destroy some of the hidden pests and protect the bark of the apple tree from cracks. In winter, the greatest threat is the sun’s rays reflected from the snow (especially in February). After whitewashing, this threat disappears.
By completing the activities described above, you will prepare the apple orchard for winter rest, and reduce the amount of spring work.
It is impossible to grow healthy apples completely without chemical treatment, but if you carry out preventive spraying against pests and diseases in the fall and use physical and mechanical methods in full, then it will be easier to get an environmentally friendly crop.
From whom autumn prevention saves
Preventive spraying of apple trees is aimed at reducing the number of pests and eliminating pathogens. Below we present a table with a list of harmful objects of the apple tree and wintering places.
Harmful object (pest/pathogen) | hibernating stage | Where is stored |
codling moth | older caterpillars | in the cracks of the bark, under the fallen leaves |
aphid | eggs | on young growth, at the base of the buds, on shoots |
spider mite Red apple mite | eggs | at the base of the kidneys, in the cracks in the cortex |
apple moth | caterpillars of the 1st age | on branches under a moisture-proof shield (spraying is not effective) |
Rozannaya Torturer Kidney twirl | eggs younger caterpillars | on the bark of boles and branches near buds, on young shoots |
apple flower beetle | adults (adult beetles) | in the cracks of the trunk, under the leaves |
winter moth | eggs | on the bark next to the kidneys |
wrinkled bog | larvae | in passages under the bark |
destroyed | fruit bodies | on fallen leaves and fruits |
fruit rot | mycelium | in mummified fruits, in affected branches |
Cytosporosis | fruit bodies mycelium | on affected branches inside the cortex |
Black Cancer | fruit bodies, mycelium | in bark, leaves, fruits |
Mučnistaâ rosa | mycelium | in the kidneys |
When analyzing the presented table, pay attention to the wintering stage. Processing apple trees from pests is advisable when they are in the active stage. Higher doses will be required to destroy pest eggs. Therefore, the processing of trees is carried out only with a high number of phytophages.
Among the diseases of the apple tree, there are those that require mandatory preventive treatment. These include scab and fruit rot. It is necessary to process taking into account the recommended doses and temperatures for a particular drug.
List of effective chemical protection drugs
The terms of chemical treatments for apple trees depend on the preparation used and the purpose of the procedure. If spraying is carried out on foliage, then it is not allowed to exceed the recommended doses. After leaf fall, the doses of drugs may be higher, which allows you to deal with inactive stages of pests and disease spores. Consider how you can treat a fruiting apple tree in the fall from diseases and pests.
To reduce the toxic load on trees, it is recommended to use broad-spectrum preparations. For example, processing apple trees with copper sulphate protects against scab and fruit rot, and also destroys the flower beetle and tick.
Preparation of tank mixtures of preparations is not always possible, and multiple treatments within 1 – 1,5 months will lead to burns and death of the tree. When choosing a remedy, focus on the most pronounced objects and fight against them.
Urea (Urea)
The treatment of apple trees with urea is carried out throughout the growing season. Only change the concentration of the working solution. In autumn, its concentration can be 5 – 7%, and after a complete drop of leaves – 10%.
The treatment of an apple tree with a nitrogen-containing preparation should not be started before leaf fall, as this will adversely affect winter hardiness. Carbamide can be applied when about 70% of the leaves have fallen and until late autumn. With a high number of pests, not only trees are cultivated, but also the soil of tree trunks. Young apple seedlings are treated with lower concentrations (no more than 5%). Preventive autumn treatment with urea makes it possible to contain the spread of many dangerous pests of the apple tree, destroying wintering eggs and larvae. It is desirable to spray the trees on a cloudy day or in the evening. In the sun, the likelihood of burns is high. The drug showed itself well in the fight against aphids. With a high degree of damage by the pest, it is advisable to cut and burn the populated shoots of the apple tree.
Copper sulfate
Treatment with a 1% solution of copper sulphate is used against pest larvae and mites. Due to the high toxicity of the drug, the treatment of apple diseases is reduced to local treatments of the affected bark on the trunk. Preventive treatments protect apple trees from scab and moniliosis (fruit rot).
inkstone
In its action, the drug is similar to copper sulfate. For spraying take a 0,1% solution, for local treatment – 3%. Harmful objects – pathogens of scab, black cancer, cytosporosis, all stages of pests. Processing apple trees with iron sulphate compensates for the deficiency of an important trace element. In autumn, trunk circles can be cultivated, enriching the soil with iron.
Colloidal sulfur
A 1% suspension of sulfur in water is prepared. During processing, the drug is not toxic, but under the influence of sunlight, vapors are formed that poison the colonies of ticks and pathogens of the apple tree. The high efficiency of the drug was noted in the fight against diseases such as powdery mildew and scab.
Bordeaux mixture
It is a less toxic analogue of vitriol. The drug consists of lime and copper sulfate dissolved in water. Some gardeners replace lime with clay. A ready-made dry preparation can be purchased at a specialized store. Bordeaux mixture should be in the garden first aid kit. With it, you will always have something to treat the apple tree from scab and other fungal diseases. In autumn, the drug can be used not only to protect the apple tree, but also other fruit and berry crops.
Drug 30+
An effective contact insecticide that forms a film on the surface of an insect, larva or egg. The film prevents the penetration of air and leads to the death of the pest. This is one of the best pest control in the fall.
Systemic drugs
Complex tank mixes can be made from systemic preparations that solve several problems at once. In autumn, Strobi, Skor, Topaz, Horus will help from diseases. They can be used immediately after picking apples, without waiting for the leaves to fall, since their phytotoxicity is minimal. Aktara and Karbafos will save the apple tree from aphids and caterpillars. They can be added to the same fungicide tank.
Separately, it is worth mentioning about bacterial preparations (Lepidocid, Entobacterin, Fitosporin). Treatment with biological products should be carried out in September on warm sunny days. The higher the temperature, the better. The inclusion of biopreparations in the apple tree protection system does not allow the use of general exterminating chemicals.
Now you know how to spray apple trees in the fall and how to do it as efficiently as possible. Processing the garden in autumn also includes whitewashing the stems and bases of skeletal branches.
Autumn Whitewash
Whitewashing apple trees saves from burns and destroys pests, the disease of the stem bark progresses less. The older the tree, the thicker the layer of whitewash.
A simple aqueous solution of slaked lime (or chalk) with blue vitriol can be supplemented with clay, laundry soap and horse manure. Processing with such a mixture will be more reliable.
Whitewashing is carried out at the last stage after all the above procedures. Processing the trunk of an apple tree with a solution is carried out to a height of at least 150 cm, capturing skeletal branches as well. The concentration of the drug is not more than 20%.
Rules and Recommendations
Use only approved products with a valid expiration date for your garden. Beware of fakes, check with the seller for a quality certificate. Processing the garden in the fall from pests and pathogenic microorganisms does not differ in technique from spring procedures. The presence of personal protective equipment is mandatory. All treatments are carried out on a dry windless day.
Process all trees in one day. Use a sprayer with good atomization. The smaller the drops, the more evenly the drug solution will be applied. The device must be looked after, kept clean, the atomizer and filters cleaned. Preparations can not work at negative temperatures.
In addition to the apple tree, the described preparations protect other fruit trees, berries and ornamental plants. For example, all perennial plants suffering from aphid attacks can be treated with urea.
A little about other methods of protecting the apple tree in the autumn
In protecting the apple orchard, one should not neglect the grandfather’s methods. Take the time to set up trapping belts to catch caterpillars in the spring. On whitewashed stems, install protective nets from hares. Such protection is especially needed for young trees and apple seedlings.
It is better to replace the digging of trunk circles with loosening, which gives the same result, but is not dangerous for the root system of the apple tree. The trunk circles of seedlings are mulched, increasing winter hardiness.
In autumn, processing the apple orchard is just as important as disinfecting the greenhouse. Never miss these events.