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Scab on an apple tree: treatment and how to fight
Scab on an apple tree is a fungal disease that affects the fruits, leaves and flowers of fruit trees, while greatly reducing productivity and frost resistance, harming the garden. The causative agent of the disease is the parasitic fungus Venturia, which favors the development of cold, rainy summers. Affected apples are poorly stored, lose their presentation and vitamin value.
The main signs of the disease
The apple tree does not die from scab infection, but the disease should be fought immediately, since it tends to move to neighboring garden crops. At the first signs of infection, it is necessary to treat all the plants in the garden with special preparations. Scab is an insidious disease and is often disguised as other not particularly harmful diseases, it is difficult to immediately identify it, which leads to an outbreak of infection.
Scab on an apple tree is a disease that can spoil the commercial and taste qualities of the crop
Infection usually occurs in the spring with the onset of active bud growth. It appears on young leaves in the form of small spots with a bloom of olive shade. Soon, the spots become dark brown in color. At a more advanced stage of the disease, symptoms such as:
- young branches acquire a dark brown color with a velvety bloom, begin to dry quickly;
- early leaf fall;
- torn cracks and pits form on older branches;
- brown dark spots appear on the fruits themselves;
- apples are badly cracked and fall off.
Scab spores are viable, they can stay on fallen leaves for a long time, while they are resistant to frost and retain the ability to reproduce for several years. It is very important to remove fallen leaves, branches from diseased trees from the site and burn.
How to deal with scab on an apple tree
In order to prevent the development of scab and infection in the garden of other trees, comprehensive measures should be taken to combat an infectious disease. Regularly carry out preventive work to increase the resistance of fruit trees to various diseases by treating the soil around the trees, applying complex fertilizers, and also:
- control watering, prevent waterlogging of the soil;
- treat with fungicidal agents;
- dig up the soil around the trunk circles;
- remove fallen leaves and fruits;
- cut off affected branches;
- burn the plant debris of the tree.
At the initial stage of scab development, you can resort to folk remedies, such as spraying trees with a solution of dry mustard, salt or potassium permanganate. When the disease is neglected, the garden can only be saved with the help of disinfectants.
It is easier to prevent scab on an apple tree, because it will take a lot of time and financial costs to treat and fight a severe infection. Following simple rules for caring for fruit trees will help to avoid infection, which in a short time can destroy most of the crop and harm the garden.