Cultivation of orchard takes not one year, and it is possible to lose it just suddenly because of diseases and wreckers who attack fruit-trees. Knowing about the reasons of appearance of diseases, it is possible to prevent their development and to save garden from death.
Diseases of fruit-trees: 5 basic reasons
Fruit tree – difficult vegetable organism which needs proper handling and protection against damages. Violation of the rules of cultivation and lack of due care for fruit crops lead to the fact that trees begin to get sick and to perish gradually.
All illnesses of garden trees are subdivided into infectious (caused by activity of organism parasite) and non-infectious. As causative agents of diseases of the first group, viruses (wood yamchatost, metelchatost, mosaic), bacteria (bacteriosis, chloroz, bacterial burn) and mushrooms can act (tsitosporoz, bark necrosis, scab, kokkomikoz, mealy dew). Non-infectious diseases are caused by external conditions (surplus or lack of moisture, frosts, etc.) and wreckers (worms, tsvetoyed, fir seed moth, sawfly, ticks, butterfly pyralid, etc.).
It is important to recognize problem as soon as possible and to prevent its development at the initial stages, having chosen for this purpose the most suitable means. Only in this case it is possible to hope for preservation of tree.
Causes of diseases of fruit-trees
There are five basic reasons of developing of diseases at fruit-trees:
- Mechanical influence. Breakages of branches, cuts of bark and ruptures of leaves lead to tree infection with harmful microorganisms and insects. The adverse atmospheric phenomena (gale-force wind, hail, frosting of branches), actions of animals (bark obgryzaniye hares and mouse-like rodents) and negligence of the person when harvesting or cutting branches can become the reason of damage of trees.
- Weather factors. For all year the trees come under influence of low and high temperatures. So, severe colds during the winter period can cause damages of bark and wood of trunk, branches, and even tree roots. Spring frosts often become the reason of withering of ovaries and young leaves. The increased solar activity leads to strong heating and the subsequent usykhaniye and cracking of bark, drying up and early dumping of foliage in the summer - leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out as during the autumn period.
- Shortage or surplus of water. Lack of moisture of the soil - the reason of drying of tree and sharp reduction of its efficiency. Besides, the tree experiencing water starvation is worse adapted for wintering and can be easily damaged by frosts. The excess of water causes oxygen starvation of root system and considerable decrease in immunity. The tree begins to decay that at once increases the probability of infection with fungal infectious diseases.
- Defeat by harmful insects. Leaves, bark, flowers and fruits of trees steadily attract various wreckers who cause strong damage to productivity, reduce frost resistance of trees and their immunity in relation to various infectious diseases, oppress growth of tree and stop it in development.
- Shortage of nutrients. The deficiency or surplus of nutritious components in the earth leads to violations in development of fruit-trees. The lack of microelements leads to lag in growth and to crushing of fruits, and the excess of fertilizers does trees susceptible to diseases, stop growth, reduce productivity of fruits and leads to their deformation.
Measures of prevention of diseases of fruit plants
It is possible to avoid infection of fruit-trees with infections following prevention measures.
- Respect for technology of preparation of garden by winter and summer. To process trunk and branches mix from limy milk and copper vitriol in the fall and in the spring, to warm trunks of young trees fir twigs or straw before frosts, it is correct to carry out cutting of krone.
- Timely waste removal and redigging. The fallen-down foliage, the pulled-out weeds and the cut-off branches need to be removed and burned in time as stale vegetation – the environment for reproduction of fungi and parasites. Redigging of the earth and will allow to destroy in the early spring harmful microorganisms in the fall.
- Control of moisture content of the soil and nutritious structure. Regular watering and draining of excess and stagnant water will allow to maintain optimum level of moisture in soil, and introduction of the corresponding kind of tree of fertilizing will give it force and will increase harvest volume.
Thus, carrying out preventive measures and timely treatment of the fruit-trees damaged by diseases and parasites will keep garden for future generations.