The culprit of rotting apples is a fungal disease, moniliosis, affecting the fruits of fruit trees.
The fight against this problem is complex and painstaking. But carrying out special preventive and therapeutic measures can help and will help to save the harvest.
The nature of moniliosis
The spread of moniliosis occurs with fungal spores, which are quite frost-resistant and survive in the winter. The disease manifests itself not only in the decay of the fruit, but also in the drying of the flowers and branches.
Stages of fungus activity
Moniliosis goes through two phases of development:
- Conidial - stage of activity. During this period, spores of the fungus, consisting of conidia (genetic cells that contribute to their spread), infect all parts of the tree. Usually they are gray. The active phase occurs in the spring-summer period, the favorable temperature for them is above + 15 ° C, activation at + 25 ... + 28 ° C, humidity 70-90%.
- Sclerotic - a stage of rest. In winter, the fungus is stored on a tree, usually in the form of a mycelium or mummified in fruits.
Forms of moniliosis
The disease manifests itself in two forms:
- Fruit rot. Gained distribution throughout the Russian territory. The causative agent is the fungus Monilia fructigena. The penetration of its spores occurs through damage to the fruits. On apples, 2-3 mm brown spots form. Five days later they become completely soft and brown. High temperature, wind and humidity contribute to further spread. If the latter is less than 60%, the spores freeze and the fetus turns black.
- Monilial burn. Distributed in the South, Far East, it causes Monilia cinerea. The fungus spreads to flowers, ovaries, branches. They become dark brown and dry.
Causes of infection
Moniliosis of trees occurs for a number of reasons:
- Damaged bark due to pests or inaccurate use of garden tools.
- Sick trees in the neighborhood, i.e. transmission of infection from other already infected pears or apple trees.
- Weakened state as a result of other diseases.
- The apple tree variety is not resistant to infection.
- Failure to comply with the rules of agricultural technology, i.e. Incorrect planting, watering, lack of preventive measures.
- Incorrect storage, the chosen place could be breeding grounds for infection.
Moniosis Prevention
Disease prevention begins even when buying and planting a young seedling:
- They buy a variety resistant to moniliosis, for example, Idared, Renet, Jonathan, Pepin Saffron, Slavyanka, Florina, etc.
- Fruit trees are planted after about 3 m, not closer.
Annual measures are carried out in the spring.
- The apple tree is carefully examined. Remove dried and damaged branches. They form a crown, peel off exfoliated bark, lichens, cover up damage with garden varieties or white paint, whitewash the trunk and thick branches with whitewash (lime mortar).
- Plant debris left over from last year is removed, and a trunk circle near the tree is carefully digged.
- Use phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. In addition, young seedlings are treated with root formation stimulants (Cornerost, Heteroauxin).
- Regularly watered, maintaining constant soil moisture.
- They are treated with chemicals from pests and other diseases that contribute to the spread of moniliosis (Embrelia, copper sulfate).
Treatment
Signs of the disease appear five days after infection. During this period, you can still fight with the fungus, until its spores have spread further. Ten days later, it will be harder to do.
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Drugs for the treatment of moniliosis
To combat this disease, treatment with chemical and folk remedies helps.
Chemicals
Moniliosis is recommended to be treated with the following drugs:
- Bordeaux liquid - 3% before flowering, 1% - during, after and further with an interval of two weeks, so that the last treatment also took place half a month before harvesting.
- Chorus, Skor - increase the immunity of the tree, spend three times processing, stop during flowering and 15 days before harvesting.
- Embrelia is a complex drug that helps in the fight not only with moniliosis, but also with other diseases and pests. Process up to three times with an interval of about two weeks. Not washed off by rain.
- Hom - 40 g per 12 liters of water. Processed during the appearance of leaves, then after flowering.
- Abiga Peak - four single use during the growing season, every 20 days.
- Strobes - two-time spraying after two weeks. Stop a month before the harvest.
Folk remedies
Do not neglect folk methods:
- Copper sulfate - 100 g per 10 liters of water, used in the fall after harvest.
- Copper chloride (Bordeaux replacement) - spray seven days before the appearance of flowers and after.
- Colloidal sulfur - 100 g per 10 liters of water, used during the laying of the kidneys.
- A mixture of laundry soap with kerosene - 2 tbsp. soap, 2 liters of kerosene in 1 liter of water. Then this solution is diluted with water 1: 2.
Treatment tips
There are several rules that must be considered when treating an apple tree for moniliosis:
- To avoid sunburn and chemical burns of the bark, it is necessary to spray in the early morning, evening or in cloudy weather.
- Although there are sediment-resistant preparations, do not treat them before and during rain.
- You need to spray it very carefully, without missing a single plot on the tree.
- When diluting the drug, it is important to strictly follow the instructions.
