How to deal with sooty fungus on an apple tree, chemicals and biological products for treatment

Warm and damp weather provokes the development of fungal diseases on apple trees. Healthy plants resist infection, while pest-affected and weakened plants instantly become ill. Apple trees are affected by sooty fungus most often as a result of damage to the crop by aphids and insects that leave sugary secretions. For proper growth of plantings, preventive measures are regularly carried out, and if fungus appears, treatment is carried out.


General information about the disease

The first signs of sooty fungus are the appearance of a black coating on:

  • bark;
  • branches;
  • leaves;
  • fruits

The fungus feeds:

  • sweet secretions of insects, they are mainly secreted by aphids;
  • juice released from the apple tree.

The greatest danger to the plant is not the pests themselves, but the disease caused by their appearance. Fruits with black spots can be consumed without harm to health. Only their presentation is lost. Affected apples are poorly stored and rot quickly.

It is necessary to treat the plant because:

  • the pores of the wood become clogged;
  • normal leaf respiration is disrupted;
  • the process of photosynthesis is suppressed;
  • winter hardiness decreases.

The fungal disease tolerates severe frosts well, and attacks again in the spring.

Causes and signs of fungus

The harmful fungus settles on apple trees with numerous wounds that appear after damage to branches and pruning. As a result, a large amount of juice is released containing organic substances that feed various microorganisms and fungal spores.

sooty fungus

The sooty fungus multiplies quickly, covering the surface of the bark with hyphae in the form of a black coating, thereby clogging its microscopic openings. As a result, air exchange is disrupted, causing oppression of the tree.

Causes:

  1. In a dry year, a large number of aphids and honeysuckers appear. They create a good breeding ground for the fungus that appears after the pests. Most often, the disease becomes noticeable the following year. The first sign of pests appearing on apple trees is ants running along the tree trunks.
  2. The fungus develops when the plant is shaded, in an unthinned crown, or when crops are thickened in the garden. Moreover, on the peripheral part of the crown, the fruits may remain undamaged.
  3. The pathogen is able to reach the plant with insects and overwinter on fallen leaves and under the bark.

Signs:

  1. The infected area turns black.The plaque looks like soot or ash. Unlike scab, the lesion has a different shape, size and is easily erased.
  2. Infection of fruits occurs before harvest. The apples become small and unpresentable.
  3. Severely affected leaves dry out quickly.

sooty fungus

At the first signs of the disease, treatment is started immediately.

How to deal with sooty fungus

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to determine the cause of the fungus and eliminate it. Heavily overgrown trees are trimmed and tidied up.

If the cause is insects, then they are treated with chemicals:

  • "Decis";
  • "Fufanon";
  • "Karbofos";
  • "Iskra D"

You can use more environmentally friendly methods:

  1. A fishing belt placed on the trunk will allow you to catch insects in large quantities.
  2. Bait traps with fermented compote are hung on trees, which attract pests.
  3. If the insect population is small, then spraying with infusion of tobacco, garlic, and wormwood helps. Coniferous concentrate and decoction of potato and tomato tops are effective. The listed plants retain their toxicity for a short time and do not cause harm to the environment.
  4. Planted herbs around the trees help repel pests that like to live on apple trees.

sooty fungus

Severely affected branches are cut off and burned. For prevention, after pruning, it is recommended to clean the trunk and wash it with a solution of copper sulfate. If there are less than two weeks left before harvest, treat with soda solution. Add 150 grams of soda to a bucket of water. After harvesting the fruits, re-processing is carried out.

If affected by a fungal disease in the fall, be sure to prune the affected branches within reason.Fallen leaves are collected and burned. Before the winter cold, the trunks are whitened.

It is also effective to combat the formation of sooty fungus due to pests using biological preparations:

  • "Lepidocide";
  • "Bitoxibacillin";
  • "Fitoverm";
  • "Entobacterin".

Fitoverm drug

These preparations can be used to treat the crop 5 days before harvesting the fruit. “Fitoverm” is the most gentle drug that contains normal microflora and suppresses the development of fungus.

Prevention

To prevent the appearance of a fungal disease, it is necessary to take preventive measures:

  • treat wounds with garden varnish;
  • monitor soil moisture; it should not be constantly wet;
  • thin out the crown in time;
  • pest control;
  • treat the plant against fungi and insects.

If you follow simple recommendations, trees will develop properly and grow healthy.

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