Diseases of the bark of apple trees and other fruit trees

If your fruit trees have damaged bark on the trunk or at the base of skeletal branches, you need to start treating them in October.

Often, the death and death of tree bark occurs as a result of damage to dangerous diseases: black cancer, cytosporosis, gum disease (gommosis) of stone fruits.

Mostly weakened trees, those damaged by spring or autumn sharp temperature fluctuations, pests or diseases, are affected.Proper agricultural practices will help protect trees from these dangers and keep the bark healthy.

In late autumn, whitewash the trunks and bases of skeletal branches with a solution of lime (2.5 kg) with clay (1 kg) or mullein (1 kg) per 10 liters of water. You can use special whitewash materials for trees.

When removing dried branches, disinfect the wounds with copper sulfate and cover them with garden varnish.

Disease-affected areas of the cortex can be treated. To do this, cut out the diseased areas with a sharp knife, grabbing part of the healthy bark along the edges. Disinfect the wound with a solution of copper sulfate (10 g per 1 liter of water) and after drying, cover it with garden varnish. Collect the cut off diseased bark and burn it.

Treat stone fruit trees suffering from gum disease. If there are few gum projections and they are small (about the size of a pinhead), it is not recommended to clean off the gum. Clean large wounds with 3-4 cm of healthy bark, disinfect with copper sulfate and cover with garden varnish.

On stone fruit trees, fresh sorrel will help heal wounds on the bark. Tear a bunch of sorrel and rub the cleaned wound 2-3 times at intervals of 5-10 minutes (as it dries).

In the fight against bark diseases, spraying with fungicides against scab helps: agate 25-K (biological product), copper-containing fungicides in the green cone and pink bud phases. Repeated spraying - during the period of fruit ripening, but no later than 20 days before harvest.

Fungus on trees

The bark of old and diseased trees is often colonized by different types of fungi. They, like lichens, feed on the sap of the tree, gradually deplete it, and the tree dies if timely measures are not taken.

Fungi secrete substances harmful to the tree under the bark. Pests settle and overwinter under the loose bark.

With a wide variety of species of tree fungi, the methods of combating them are the same. In early spring, before the buds open, fallen leaves and carrion are collected. Damaged branches are cut out. And all this is burned so that the mushrooms do not spread throughout the dacha.

The bodies of the mushrooms are removed from the bark with a knife or a wire brush. The area under them is disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate (30 g per 1 liter of water). After drying, lubricate the treated area with garden varnish and tie it with non-woven material or film. A solution of 1% concentration is sprayed onto the crown of the tree and the soil around the tree trunk.

During the season after rain, the wood is treated with a weaker solution: 10 g of copper sulfate per 10 liters of water or 1% Bordeaux mixture. The last treatment is carried out in the fall, after leaf fall. Fallen leaves are collected and burned to destroy the fungal spores.