Most often, a disease such as scab can be found on pears. This is a fungal disease that often infects fruit crops. There are many methods of fighting fungus, including traditional ones.
Scab provocateur
Scab occurs due to infection of the pear by a fungus. The fungus reproduces by spores that appear during flowering. Spores are carried by insects and wind from tree to tree, thereby infecting almost the entire garden.
The cause of the disease is warm, humid weather. If it is sunny outside and it doesn’t rain for a long time, then the fungus does not multiply. But as soon as wet weather sets in, the fungus begins to multiply intensively.
Causes:
- Humid warm weather.
- Air temperature +20…+24 degrees.
- Weakened immune system of pears.
Most often, scab spores overwinter in fallen leaves, and in the spring, when favorable weather arrives, they infect healthy trees.
Timely removal of leaves from the site in the fall will minimize the risk of fungus appearing on the pear.
The main signs of pear infection
To understand what kind of pear disease you will have to fight, you need to study the signs of scab. Often some signs are similar to the manifestations of other diseases, so you need to pay attention to any deviations from the norm when examining the tree.
Signs of scab on a pear:
- The first signs of fungus appear in early spring, when the plant is just beginning to grow foliage.
- Small brown spots can be seen on unblown leaves.
- As the leaf grows, the spots increase in size.
- As the spots grow, they take on an oval shape.
- Gradually they appear on the buds, and then on the fruits.
If damage to the pear is not noticed in time and treatment is not started, very soon the fungus will spread throughout the entire tree, and then to neighboring plants. You need to fight scab in the initial stages in order to successfully cure the plant. It is worth noting that the problem only affects the back side of the sheet. In addition, there are fewer inflorescences, the fruits grow small, and the yield decreases.
Ways to combat scab
There are many ways to combat scab, but they are conventionally divided into chemical and folk.Folk remedies are effective in the initial stages of the disease. If the scab has spread to most of the pear, you will have to use chemical methods. It is also important to take preventive measures. After all, it is easier to prevent fungus than to treat it.
Bordeaux liquid
Scab can be combated with Bordeaux mixture. You can buy a ready-made liquid or purchase a Bordeaux mixture and dilute it with water. The mixture contains lime and copper sulfate. In particularly advanced cases, pears are sprayed with a 3% solution of Bordeaux mixture. After flowering, the plants are treated with a 1% solution of liquid. About 4 sprays with Bordeaux mixture are allowed per season.
If the product does not have the desired effect, the number of treatments with Bordeaux mixture is increased to 7.
The first time the pear is sprayed with Bordeaux mixture is before flowering. It is not advisable to use concentrated solutions. You won’t be able to deal with the fungus faster, but you can burn the leaves of the tree.
Mineral fertilizers
Mineral fertilizers are universal in that they act not only as a preventative against scab, but also saturate the soil with nutrients.
The following mineral fertilizers are suitable for scab prevention:
- You can get rid of scab using ammonium nitrate. 3% fertilizing is applied to the soil in early spring.
- Also in early spring, pears are fertilized with 3% ammonium sulfate.
- In autumn, potassium salt is added to the soil (20 g per 30 liters of warm water).
- In autumn, the pear is watered with a solution of nitrophoska.
- Plants are watered with urea in the fall (100 g per 10 liters of warm water).
- In April, calcium chloride (5-10%) is used.
Mineral fertilizers are good because they can be used even during the fruiting period, because they are not chemicals, which means they will not cause harm to humans and the environment.
Chemicals
You can spray a pear against scab using copper-containing preparations. But you should be careful with them. For humans, copper-containing products are toxic in large quantities and can accumulate in the body. Many chemicals cannot be used if there is fruit on the pear. The drug "Hom" has proven itself well. The chemical is produced in the form of a water-soluble powder of 20 or 40 g.
To prepare the solution, first dissolve 40 g of powder in a small amount of water, and then dilute 10 liters. The chemical is used immediately after preparation.
"Hom" refers to systemic fungicides. It does not accumulate in plant tissues and is quickly washed away by rain. During the season, pears are sprayed with Hom no more than 6 times. The interval between treatments is 14 days. It is not recommended to use "Hom" during the flowering period of plants.
Another remedy for scab is “Abiga-pik”. This is an analogue of the “Hom” product, but in the form of an aqueous suspension. Contains copper oxychloride.
The composition also includes a special substance that allows the drug to be evenly distributed over the leaf and retained on its surface.
To prepare a solution, 50 ml of the product is diluted in 5 liters of water. Abiga-pik is not absorbed into plant tissue. It is recommended to use the drug only in dry weather, so that it has time to attach to the leaves and is not washed away with water. During the season, it is recommended to spray the pear no more than 4 times with Abiga-pik. It is also used as a prophylactic agent due to its low toxicity.
Another drug for scab is Oxychom. The drug contains copper chloride and oxadixil. Oxadixil is responsible for its long-lasting action. The protective effect lasts for three days.Then oxadixil comes into play and destroys the infection in those areas where the main substance failed. This provides protection to plants for up to two weeks.
The chemical is produced in the form of water-soluble granules. “Oxychom” is highly toxic, so it is not recommended to use it after rain and a day before rain. "Kuprikol" has lower consumption compared to similar products. It also contains copper oxychloride. The advantage is that the drug is resistant to rain. Also, the solution can be stored for several days without precipitation.
To destroy the fungus on a pear, it is enough to carry out three treatments.
Folk remedies
In the initial stages of scab, trees can be treated with folk remedies. In a neglected state, they are unlikely to help. But at the first sign of scab they are very effective.
Folk remedies for scab:
- Dilute mustard powder (90 g) in 1 bucket of warm water. Treat pears with mustard solution 4 times per season.
- Fill the bucket ⅓ full with horsetail. Fill halfway with warm water and leave for 3 days. Spray the pear with horsetail solution after the leaves appear.
- Before the buds appear, the tree is treated with saline solution. 1 kg of table salt per 1 bucket of water.
- Potassium permanganate also helps in the fight against scab. Dilute 5 g of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water. In early spring, the tree trunk circle is treated with potassium permanganate. Then the tree is processed during the leaf opening, during flowering and during the fruiting period.
Folk remedies are not as aggressive as chemicals and do not accumulate in fruits.Before you fight with chemicals, you can try to cure scab using these recipes.
Disease prevention
"Kuproksat" is another effective fungicide in the fight against scab on fruit trees. The composition includes copper acetate and ammonia solution. Also acts as a mineral nitrogen-containing additive for plants. To destroy the fungus, “Kuproksat” is used in the spring before the buds open. In autumn it acts as a preventative against fungi. The Kuproxat solution is watered on the soil, which helps destroy fungi that are in the ground.
Also used to combat scab are “Tsikhom”, sulfur-based preparations and systemic fungicides. It is important to carry out preventive treatments in the fall so that you do not have to deal with a fungal epidemic in the spring.
Pear varieties resistant to scab
Currently, breeders have bred a large number pear varieties, which are resistant to scab.
Varieties resistant to fungus:
- Commemorative;
- In memory of Parshin;
- January;
- Central Russian;
- Conference.
No one can give a 100% guarantee that these varieties will never get scab. But, unlike other varieties, these hybrids suffer from scab much less often. You can increase the immunity of any variety with regular fertilizing and anti-aging pruning.
Processing schedule
Depending on the time of year, pear processing will vary. The pear scab treatment calendar includes several stages. In spring, the pear is processed at least 4 times. The first time of treatment is carried out before the buds swell. The second time is at the beginning of bud break. The third treatment is carried out before flowering. And the last one - after flowering.
The purpose of spring processing is:
- Prevention of fungi.
- Destruction of existing spores.
- Increasing the tree's immunity.
In summer, the purpose of treatment is to destroy pests and combat existing diseases. Spray the pear as needed. In autumn, the pear is sprayed before the leaves fall. Autumn spraying is a preventive measure. With timely treatments, the pear will not be afraid of any disease.
