Why do apricot leaves and fruits turn yellow, dry, curl and fall off?

Many varieties of apricot are capable of bearing fruit annually, but rarely does any gardener manage to harvest the crop every year. Diseases are to blame for this, and their most typical manifestations are associated with leaves - they fall, curl, dry out, become stained or have holes. How to determine the cause of apricot disease and what to do to treat it is the topic of today’s publication.

Classification of apricot diseases

All types of problems of apricot trees can be divided into clusters according to their origin, nature of distribution and external symptoms.

Based on their origin, apricot diseases are divided into two types:

• infectious - developing as a result of infection of a tree with pathogens of a fungal, bacterial or viral nature;
• non-infectious - affecting the crop due to exposure to unfavorable climatic conditions or the environment. These include droughts, frosts, prolonged rains, proximity to groundwater, soil acidity, its saturation with nutrients, degree of soil / air pollution, etc.

According to the degree of spread of the disease, they are also divided into 2 groups:

• local, that is, affecting individual parts of the tree. The cause of their occurrence is infectious diseases;
• general, that is, spreading throughout the tree. Such pathologies often lead to the death of the entire plant. Their source can be both infectious and non-infectious diseases.

According to the external manifestation of the disease on apricot trees, the following are presented:

• plaque, which is a powdery coating formed on leaves and young shoots;
• rot, accompanied by softening of tissues and their destruction;
• rust - pustules with spores of infectious diseases;
• necrosis, that is, tissue death;
• deformation of individual parts, for example, twisting of sheet plates;
• mummification - blackening and drying of branches and other parts of the plant;
• pathological change in the color of the tissues of foliage, shoots, inflorescences - the appearance of red, brown or gray spots on them;
• wilting caused by lack of water or viral infection;
• growths on branches and trunks, which are thickenings that arise due to atypical cell growth;
• manifestations resulting from softening of hard tissues.

Regardless of the origin, each disease has 2 forms - acute, which is characterized by a clear manifestation of symptoms, and latent, characterized by an asymptomatic course.

When to graft an apricot: in spring or autumn

The result depends on the time of vaccination. The correct period guarantees the longevity of the scion and a bountiful harvest.

Carrying out the procedure at different times has its own characteristics and depends on the vegetation characteristics of the plant.

The ideal period is before the start of sap flow, but when the tree begins to wake up. Usually this is early spring. The exact timing of vaccinations depends on climatic conditions. They may differ from the first ten days of March in the southern regions and until the last days of April in the more northern regions.

You can understand that the best time for vaccination has come based on the following conditions:

You can also follow the popular saying: the ground should thaw two shovels deep. Then it’s time to plant stone fruits.

Sometimes grafting is possible during the summer. It occurs during the second period of sap flow, that is, after harvesting: from the end of July to the end of August. You can determine the right time by the well-separated bark from the trunk. In summer, green cuttings are grafted.

It is not recommended to vaccinate in the autumn months, except in the southern regions. The cuttings will not have time to take root and adapt. The tree needs strength to grow. In central regions, autumn vaccination cannot be done for two reasons:

Vaccination is a real operation, so the procedure is taken as seriously as possible.

Why do apricot leaves fall in May?

The loss of foliage by apricots at the end of spring is an anomaly caused by one of the following factors:

• temperature changes caused by recurrent night frosts;
• prolonged drought;
• fungal disease klyasterosporiosis.

Clusterosporiosis or hole spot

The cause of the development of the disease is infection of the tree with a pathogenic fungus that forms myceliums with spores on the buds and shoots. The establishment of warm, rainy weather contributes to the development of the disease.

Externally, clasterosporiasis is manifested by the appearance of small rounded red, brown or crimson spots on the foliage, which begin to quickly increase, reaching 5 mm. As a result of the death of tissue on the leaf plate, the spots on the apricot gradually turn pale, and in their place holes appear, bordered by a red border.

In addition to leaves, the fungus attacks the bark of young shoots, petioles, flower buds, and fruits:

• The appearance of spots on the bark leads to the formation of cracks and growths;
• infection of flower buds leading to their blackening and falling off;
• The spots that form on the fruits grow, becoming similar to warts; when they fall off, pits remain from which gum flows.

Apricot disease with clasterosporiasis leads to a reduction in photosynthetic activity by the affected leaves, their early drying out and falling off, as a result - to a slowdown in the growth and development of the tree, a reduction in yield, and a deterioration in the quality of the fruit. Particularly dangerous is damage to the shoots, leading to the development of a chronic form of clasterosporiasis, which threatens the death of the entire tree.

As a preventative measure, it is recommended to plant disease-resistant varieties, as well as:

• spray the trees with Bordeaux mixture immediately after flowering, repeating the procedure after 3 weeks;
• carry out early spring treatment of branches with copper sulfate.

Adverse weather conditions

May frosts and persistent drought are factors in the early loss of leaves and inflorescences. To protect flowering trees from frost, the following are used:

1. Fine-drip sprinkling - it is carried out all night and ends only an hour before sunrise. The method will be ineffective in strong gusts of wind and temperatures below -5°C.
2. Smoke screen - after sunset, fires are lit in the garden with the addition of green grass or damp rags (to create more smoke) and maintained until the morning.

If apricots cannot be protected from frost, the flowers die, turning brown, and only the fruits that have set and the blossoming leaves wither.

To help the tree recover, it is recommended to add mineral fertilizers or organic matter to the soil.

When hot weather sets in and there is a long absence of rain, the problem of apricots losing leaves can be solved by abundant watering.

For information on how, when and what to water, see a separate article.

Pests of apricot trees and their treatment

The susceptibility of the apricot tree to various fungal diseases is not the only factor in reducing the yield. In addition to unfavorable weather and high humidity, the fruit tree is especially vulnerable to insects and pests. If the source of the disease is determined in a timely manner, neutralizing the pest will be quite simple.

Fruit striped moth

Visually, the fruit striped moth resembles a small butterfly and has the ability to destroy up to six shoots at once. Despite its small size, it can cause enormous harm to a stone fruit plant. The caterpillar bites into a bud or young shoot, thereby dooming them to death.

An effective way to get rid of fruit striped moths is to treat them with insecticides. The most effective drugs are Metafor and Chlorophos. The area affected by striped moths should be immediately removed and burned. The fresh cut is treated with garden varnish.

leaf roller

At first glance, the insect does not give the impression of a pest. It has an interesting tiger coloring and small size. The leaf roller's favorite treat is the leaves of the apricot tree. To hide from possible danger, the insect rolls the leaf into a tube, in which it subsequently hides.

The fight against leaf rollers involves treating the plant with a concentrated solution of Chlorophos. However, this procedure is permissible only after harvesting.

Aphid

One of the most dangerous insects that can harm an apricot tree is aphids. It not only significantly reduces the protective properties of the plant, but also creates favorable conditions for the development of diseases such as sooty fungus.

It is easy to find out about an aphid attack - look under a couple of leaves of large branches. Aphids like to accumulate whole colonies in leaf veins. Curly foliage and crooked shoots indicate that this insect has already managed to cause significant damage to the plant.

Before fruiting begins, aphids can be gotten rid of with any specialized means. However, if the apricot has already produced several fruits, there is only one way to fight aphids - they do not tolerate the strong aroma and alkali, so infusions prepared from laundry soap, garlic cloves and onion peels are sprayed onto the leaves.

codling moth

The pest looks like a butterfly, the wingspan of which can reach 2 cm. The danger of this insect lies in the laying of a large number of eggs in the ovary or on young shoots. Towards the end of the summer period, the codling moth switches to the fruits of the tree, after which it goes to hibernate in the bark and fallen leaves. Next season, the entire plant will be covered in grown moths, which are capable of eating leaves, bark and young inflorescences.

You can protect the tree from the harmful influence of insects by collecting it and timely removing infested areas. Also effective are traps made from fabric strips and a non-drying adhesive solution, which prevents the moth from climbing onto the tree bark.

Weevils

Bugs of a greenish or bluish tint that appear on apricots are weevils. Insects eat the foliage of fruit trees, inevitably causing harm to the buds, inflorescences and fruits of the plant. If their reproduction on the foliage of a tree is not prevented in time, then by mid-summer most of the greenery will be damaged.

You need to fight insects manually - collect and destroy all the bugs. As a preventative measure, use special products such as Inta-Vir and Decis.

Leaves turn yellow and fall off in early summer

The infection of apricots by fungal diseases often leads to their crown turning yellow and shedding its leaves. Knowing the symptoms and causes of infections typical of apricot, you can not only recognize and treat them in a timely manner, but also prevent the development of most of them.

Apricot chlorosis

The lack of chlorophyll in the leaves, resulting from apricot disease with chlorosis, significantly affects the process of photosynthesis.

The disease is non-infectious in nature and is caused by a whole range of reasons:

• deficiency of microelements, primarily iron, necessary for the formation of chlorophyll;
• damage to the root system as a result of freezing;
• lack of drainage with constant waterlogging of the soil, which leads to oxygen starvation;
• alkalization of the soil when adding too much lime or nitrogen.

Chlorosis is manifested by the blanching of foliage, its falling, and the death of new bark on the branches and trunk.

Spraying with a solution of iron sulfate will help cope with minor manifestations of chlorosis in apricots. If the disease is caused by soil depletion or alkalization, the application of appropriate fertilizers - ammonium nitrate or rotted manure - will help correct the situation.

We recommend that you read the article on proper feeding of apricots depending on the season and age.

Gnomoniasis or brown spot

Signs of infection appear on the leaves in early June as barely noticeable spots, gradually covering the entire leaf blade and causing it to curl and wilt. In mid-summer, on the reverse side of the affected leaves, you can see a cluster of black dots - fungal spores.

On fruits, brown spot appears as dry brown spots that gradually increase in size. Their appearance leads to the fall of unripe fruits and a change in shape in more ripe ones. Trees weakened by the disease produce fewer fruit buds and shoots and freeze slightly in winter.

A good way of prevention is to grow varieties resistant to gnomoniasis.

Coccomycosis

Apricot infection with coccomycosis is indicated by the appearance of red-brown spots on the leaves in May-June, which gradually increases. Pinkish or grayish pustules with spores form on the reverse side of the leaf. In case of severe damage, petioles, young shoots and fruits with stalks are also covered with spotting.

Diseased leaves curl and fall prematurely. Infected fruits remain underdeveloped, their pulp acquires a watery taste, and the commercial quality of such fruits is very low.

For methods of treatment and prevention of coccomycosis, see the video below:

Verticillium

The disease is fungal in nature, its pathogens live in the soil. Affecting the root system of apricot, verticillium causes sudden drying out of the foliage, which starts from the lower branches and gradually rises, reaching the upper part of the crown. The inflorescences wither and the fruits rot.

If signs of verticillium are detected, it is recommended to treat the tree with Topsin-M or Fundazol, otherwise the apricot will die.

Apricot pest control

The best means of pest control is prevention, which consists of regular sanitary inspections and systematic treatments with insecticides. Collect and destroy damaged fruits in a timely manner, remove old bark from the trunk, whiten the trunks, dig up the soil in the circles around the trunk and destroy the caterpillars living there.

Carry out regular treatments of the garden with chemical and biological preparations (Avant, Aliot, Coragen, Plantenol, Fitoverm, Skor, Shar Pei, etc.). This needs to be done several times a season: before the buds open, during the appearance of leaves, before flowering and before the fruits ripen. At the end of the season, after harvesting the fruits, consolidate the effect with the final autumn treatment.

Spraying is best done in the morning after the dew has dried. Starting at the top of the crown, apply the solution evenly from top to bottom. Take special care to treat the underside of the leaves, where insects and fungal spores like to live.

The best protection against diseases and pests is timely prevention and compliance with garden care rules. Take care of your trees and they will thank you with a rich harvest!

If the leaves curl, we look for the culprits

A change in the color of the leaf plate, its curling and drying out indicates that the apricot is infested with aphids, leafworms and other pests. Carrying out preventive measures is one of the reliable ways to protect a plant from harmful insects.

Aphids - how to deal with the pest

Apricot is affected by aphids in spring and early summer. Insects suck the juices from young shoots, inflorescences and leaves, causing their deformation and death. In addition, they are carriers of viruses and fungi that cause weakening of the tree and reduced fruiting.

Often the cause of aphids on apricots is ants, which transfer them to healthy plants. Therefore, before fighting it, it is necessary to remove anthills from the area, and only then carry out the treatment. To do this, you can use folk remedies (for example, a solution of laundry soap and ammonia in water) or industrial insecticides such as Fitoverm and Fufanon no later than 1-1.5 months. before harvest.

See the video below for more details about aphids and how to combat them.

leaf roller

Leafworm butterfly caterpillars, having appeared in the spring, actively devour foliage and buds on apricot trees. Already in the summer they pupate, wrapped in leaves (which is why they curl), and after a while turn into butterflies.

To combat leafworm, trees can be treated with garlic solution or the preparations “Inta-vir”, “Entobacterin”.

Curly

A fungal disease manifested by curvature of runs, deformation of foliage, shortening of internodes. The affected leaves thicken due to the appearance on both sides of the leaf plate of a waxy coating with spores of the causative fungus. Over time, they lose color and fall off.

To combat leaf curl, copper-containing preparations are used, as well as “Profit” and “Rodomil Gold”, which contain mancozeb, an active ingredient against leaf curl. Preventive spraying with this drug is carried out during the period of swelling of the buds, before the leaves bloom.

Expert commentary. The disease often affects peach, but there is a point of view that curl on apricots does not occur in principle, and the above photos are a consequence of another fungal infection.

Lack of mineral elements

A deficiency of mineral elements in the soil leads to metabolic disorders in apricot trees, causing a slowdown in development, changes in the color, size and shape of foliage, fruits, and inflorescences, increasing the overall susceptibility of the plant to infectious diseases.

1. Experiencing a lack of nitrogen, the apricot crown loses color, forms few flower buds, and its shoots weaken.
2. Phosphorus deficiency causes foliage to shrink and fall off.
3. Potassium deficiency affects fruit ripening and poor shoot growth.
4. Calcium deficiency promotes gum formation.

If such symptoms are detected and to prevent their occurrence, it is recommended to feed the trees with fertilizers applied according to the calendar.

We recommend that you read the article on how to properly feed apricots at different times of the year.

Scab on apricot

One of the most “famous” fungal diseases affecting apricot trees is stone fruit scab.

Symptoms of the disease and causes of infection

It is quite easy to identify this apricot disease.

Primary (early) infection appears on the leaves:

• at first these are greenish rounded marks with unclear boundaries, randomly scattered on their back side;

• over time, the spots become brown, hard, and can cover the entire vegetative organ, including the stalk and veins;
• with severe damage, the apricot leaves wither, dry out and fall off;
• the same thing gradually begins to happen with shoots.

Late manifestations of the disease affect the fruits:

• they become noticeable on unripe apricots in the form of gray or brown hard spots;
• as the fetus matures, the affected area expands;
• a coating of velvety structure appears on the surface, changing color from olive to black;
• the fruit cracks, its pulp is destroyed, its taste and attractive appearance are lost.

Warning! When the disease spreads severely, the roots and trunk also suffer. The tree may die.

Causes of infection:

• stress is the apricot’s reaction to sudden changes in weather, which weakens the tree and makes it vulnerable to infections;
• the causative agent of the disease is activated at high humidity, during sharp temperature fluctuations (in spring);
• preventive measures not carried out in a timely manner or carried out incorrectly.

What causes scab

The causative agent of the disease is a pathogenic fungus that overwinters in the form of small dark balls on fallen leaves. In the spring, its spores are released and dispersed during rainy, humid weather, infecting healthy stone fruit trees.

How to spray apricot against scab

As control measures, apricot should be treated against scab with new generation fungicides - Kaptan-50 (0.3%) or Topsin-M (0.1%).

Spraying schedule:

• the first time - before flowering;
• after flowering is completed, repeat;
• further – every 10–14 days, 3 to 6 times as necessary.

Fighting scab with traditional methods

You can try to treat apricot scab using folk remedies:

• irrigate the trunk, crown of the tree, as well as the tree trunk circle with a solution of mustard powder (40 g per 5 liters of water);
• in spring, summer, and early autumn, spray with a rich pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Important! If you do not guess with the dosage of potassium permanganate and add more of it than necessary, you can burn the leaves and flowers. Then you will be left without a harvest at all, so it is better to use other means.

A set of preventive measures

If apricot scab treatment is carried out when signs of the disease have already appeared, then preventive measures are designed to prevent the trees from becoming infected.

For these purposes it is necessary:

• carefully water the apricots without over-moistening the soil;
• carry out annual pruning of branches, removing dry and damaged ones;
• In summer, carefully weed out weeds; in autumn, collect and burn fallen leaves;
• regularly loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle;
• inspect shoots, leaves and fruits of trees for the presence of fungus;
• In the spring, carry out preventive spraying of apricots with Bordeaux mixture (1%), lime-sulfur solution, and fumigation with sawdust.

What to do if the leaves of an apricot tree wither and dry out

If the apricot begins to lose its leaves and dry out, this is a clear sign of fungal damage to the plant. Let's look at the main ones.

Fruits rot and branches dry out - moniliosis

The fungus infects the crop through flower pistils and is one of the most common apricot diseases. Its spores are carried by insects, rain and wind, and the establishment of cool, rainy weather during the flowering period contributes to infection.

In spring, it manifests itself as a monilial burn, leading to the flower ovary and leaves drying out - as if the plant had been burned. Secondary moniliosis affects the fruits - they rot, a gray fringe forms on the surface, which is why this disease is also called gray rot.

We have a separate article about the symptoms and treatment of the disease - click here.

Leaves and fruits are speckled - scab

Being an infectious disease, scab affects the branches, fruits and leaves of the apricot, and if it spreads strongly, it also affects its trunk and roots. It can be identified by brown spots on still green fruits or brown formations on the back side of the leaf blade. If young branches are infected, then many brown ulcers appear on the shoots, they grow and develop poorly.

Scab leads to water imbalance and partial loss of yield. The remaining fruits have an ugly shape and spoiled presentation.

Cytosporosis

The disease is of fungal origin and is manifested by the appearance of many brown tubercles resembling goose bumps on the apricot trunk and branches.

Cytosporosis affects both young and old trees. Infection occurs as a result of infection of the crop through cracks in the bark by fungal spores. This leads to foliage withering and dying, branches to dry out, and if wood is infected, to the death of the entire tree.

The pathological process develops throughout the growing season and lasts from 1 year to several years; it is best seen during the period of flowering and leaf blossoming. The most susceptible to cytosporiosis are weakened trees growing on soils depleted of minerals. Wild zherdeli apricots are resistant to it.

Apoplexy

Drying of apricot branches as a result of apoplexy is accompanied by gum formation, the formation of ulcers, the appearance of a large number of fatty shoots, and discoloration of the leaves.

The reason that causes its development is metabolic disorders. Affected trees have flowers, fruits and leaves wither, and weakened trees are susceptible to attack by bark beetles, infection with clasterosporiosis, and other fungal diseases. Being weakened and not prepared for winter, such plants often die from freezing.

Branches affected by apoplexy are subject to sanitary pruning, followed by treatment of the sections with copper sulfate and garden pitch.

Bacterial cancer

The disease, caused by gram-negative strains, affects the leaves, shoots, and inflorescences of apricot, and ultimately leads to the death of the tree. Typical symptoms include:

1. The buds either do not develop at all or form small, quickly drying leaves.
2. By affecting branches, bacteriosis causes the formation of ulcers, leading to the death of the bark and destruction of phloem tissue (as a result, drying out).

Infection with bacterial canker occurs through damage caused by bark beetles and other insects; the source of the disease is old trees affected by the disease, and the carriers are garden tools, wind, and insects. Young trees infected with bacteriosis die within 1-3 years. In old trees, the disease can become chronic, greatly reducing yield.

To prevent bacterial cancer, it is necessary to:

• grow and graft varieties resistant to this disease
• in the spring, add zinc sulfate to the soil in the amount of 10-15 g per 1 hectare;

If the apricot has been affected by bacterial cancer, you need to take measures to treat it as soon as possible:

1. Spray the trees with a 3% solution of zinc sulfate during bud break.
2. the affected branches are cut 15-20 cm below the lesion site and then burned. To disinfect the cut area, treat it with a solution of copper sulfate 3% or iron sulfate 5%, then the cut is covered with paint or garden varnish.

If the tree is completely dead, you cannot immediately plant fruit crops in this place, since the remains of the apricot roots will carry a bacterial canker infection for many years. To disinfect the soil, bleach is added to it for several years at a rate of 100 g/sq.m, as well as nematicides.

Gum treatment

Gum is a resinous substance that appears in cracks of apricot trunks and branches as a response to damage.

Gum discharge or gommosis is a non-infectious disease. Its appearance indicates damage to the cortex as a result of:

• sunburn;
• freezing of branches;
• pruning carried out in late spring;
• rodent activity;
• presence of mosses and lichens.

It is recommended to remove the gum that appears with a wooden scraper, and disinfect the place of formation with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture, and treat the top with garden varnish.

Fusarium

Apricots are most susceptible to fusarium drying out in the flowering phase (this is especially true for weakened trees, as well as those with mechanical damage). The establishment of hot, humid weather during this period contributes to the spread of the disease.

The pathogen lives in soil and plant debris. When infected, fusarium causes blockage of blood vessels, manifesting itself as brown-gray dull spots on leaves and fruits, leading to wrinkling of the peel and drying out of the pulp.

As a treatment, you can treat the affected plant with Fundazol, Vitaros, Topsin-M or Bentanol. An advanced disease cannot be treated; the tree must be destroyed to avoid infecting other crops.

Mushroom Valsa

A fungal disease that occurs as a result of incorrect or untimely pruning. Spores that penetrate untreated wounds cause nodular, orange-yellow cankers, causing leaves to wither and turn yellow and branches to dry out.

To prevent the disease, it is recommended to treat the sections after pruning with garden varnish. In case of damage, a fungicidal spray is used in several approaches at intervals of 7-10 days.

The most common reasons why apricots may drop green fruits and methods of treatment

In regions with hot summers and warm winters, apricots grow in plantings, along railways and highways, in the courtyards of cities and villages. In summer, almost every year, the trees are dotted with fruits that ripen without watering, fertilizing, or treating with fungicides. And only during severe frosts, which sometimes occur in April or May, does the formed ovary die and crumble. Why does an apricot planted in the garden shed green fruits? Summer residents are perplexed, what is it missing? Stone fruit loves warmth, but also tolerates cold quite well; it takes root well not only in the south; many varieties feel normal in mid-latitudes.

General recommendations for the prevention of apricot diseases

Carrying out preventive measures is the most effective way to protect apricots from pests and diseases.

To maintain the good condition of trees and prevent diseases, simple rules should be followed.

1. Purchase and plant only healthy seedlings with an intact root system.
2. Promptly carry out harvesting, pruning withered and diseased branches, removing rotten fruits and plant debris around the trees.
3. The cut ends of the branches must be disinfected and treated with garden varnish.
4. In spring and autumn, treat trees with a 2% solution of Bordeaux mixture and apply fertilizing in a timely manner.
5. If it is necessary to remove an apricot affected by the disease, only a pome tree, such as an apple or pear tree, should be planted in its place.

Many of the listed problems can be solved with timely treatment, which, together with prevention, will allow you to get a harvest every year. What diseases does apricot suffer from in your garden?

If the cause of wilting is not established

A problem often arises when a gardener cannot determine what caused the leaves to wilt and dry out. In order to restore the culture, the following recommendations should be followed:

• Apply complex fertilizing. This method will saturate the crop with the necessary substances and stimulate the development of the root system.
• Dig up the soil around the tree. The procedure is necessary to ensure that the roots receive the required amount of oxygen. Often, lack of air leads to plant weakness.
• Increase watering. Sometimes the plant does not receive the required amount of moisture. This also negatively affects his appearance.
• Remove all infected shoots and treat cut areas with an antiseptic.

Apricot leaves wither for various reasons.

It is also recommended to treat trees with a solution of copper sulfate to prevent diseases. This procedure will not harm the culture.

Attention! It is very important to choose only healthy seedlings. Planting material that is grown on the site must be carefully inspected. Often infected seedlings cause the disease to appear on other trees.

Yellowing of leaves on apricots ahead of schedule often indicates problems. There are a large number of factors that disrupt the normal development of culture. Timely procedures will not only preserve the health of the tree, but also get a harvest.

General rules for caring for apricots

To understand why apricot fruits fall off, you need to know the rules for growing it and preventing various diseases. Successful protection of seedlings depends, first of all, on the timely detection of dangerous diseases and pests. Many of them are subtle, and gardeners sometimes discover not the culprits themselves, but the damage caused by them. Apricots are most often affected by:

• scab - manifests itself as brown spots on leaves, shoots and unripe fruits;
• gray rot (moniliosis) - unripe berries rot, young shoots dry out;
• perforated spotting (klyasterosporiosis) - affects shoots and fruits with brown spots and wart-like swellings;
• leaf curl - fruits and leaves suffer from burn-like growths;
• cytosporosis - manifested by brown smudges, ulcers on the trunks, wilting of leaves and drying out of the bark;
• powdery mildew - affects leaves, shoots, fruits with a white-gray coating;
• bacterial burn - first of all, the flowers wither, then the branches dry out and a whitish liquid begins to flow from the cracked bark;
• apoplexy - branches, leaves and tree bark dry out;
• parasites - deprive the tree of nutrients.

Clusterosporiasis In addition to “homemade chemicals” in the form of infusions and decoctions, you can also use ready-made remedies to prevent many diseases. However, we should not forget about such simple techniques as digging up tree trunk circles, collecting carrion, and putting on hunting belts. In addition to protective measures, you should take care of attracting insectivorous birds to your garden by arranging nesting sites and feeders for them. Insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, and ground beetles themselves destroy many pests. And the well-known parsley, dill, peas, carrots, and celery promote the proliferation of beneficial insects.

By following these simple rules for the coexistence of different biological types and species in your garden, you can not only prevent diseases of fruit trees, but also increase their productivity.

Choosing a rootstock for apricot grafting

The future result depends on the choice of apricot rootstock.

Apricot rootstock is the tree on which the apricot will be grafted.

The most popular rootstock is wild. The most ideal option is Manchurian apricot. Varietal varieties of wild apricots are resistant to frost and drought.

Apricots can be grafted onto varietal trees

In general, it is believed that apricots can be grafted onto any tree, only the stone fruit type. For example, cherry plums, plums, sloe, even cherries. But they must be tailored to your region.

But be prepared that incompatibility may appear in a couple of years.

Choose healthy young seedlings. The best option is two to three year old trees. You can also choose mature trees, but they should not be older than 10 years. Graft only skeletal branches. However, the survival rate on such trees is much lower.

Graft as close to the tree as possible. The rootstock should tend upward. Such branches grow better, which means the survival rate of cuttings is much higher.

Causes

Drying of apple tree leaves can occur for the following reasons:

• A deficiency of sunlight, which interferes with the normal process of photosynthesis. In this case, the leaf blades turn yellow and gradually dry out, part of the foliage falls to the ground without having time to dry.
• The high level of groundwater in the area prevents normal access of oxygen to the root system of the plant, as a result of which the root part begins to rot.
• Moisture deficiency contributes to the withering of shoots and leaves.
• Excess fertilizer in the soil, especially manure. This nutrient can cause burns in the roots of the apple tree.
• The presence of mechanical damage on the branches and in the root part of the plant.
• Impact of diseases, pest attacks.

Popular pests and diseases of apple trees:

Cytosporosis or infectious drying out can be unmistakably identified by dark ulcers on the plant bark. The disease quickly spreads along the branches and trunk, cracks penetrate all the way to the wood, causing disruption of the movement of nutrients under the bark and drying out of the leaves. Drying of fruit tree leaves is often associated with a fungal disease such as scab. The first symptoms of the described disease are the appearance of brown spots, which gradually increase in size and fill the entire surface of the leaf blade. After this, the leaves wilt. Powdery mildew can be identified by the appearance of a white coating on the foliage.

After a while, the surface becomes brown, then the vegetative organs of the plant curl and dry out. Among the pests, you should pay attention to the spider mite. This microscopic parasite feeds on plant sap

Its presence can be unmistakably determined by a thin, barely noticeable web. Apple aphids appear in colonies on the inner surface of leaves. This pest can also suck juices from plant shoots. As a result of the influence of aphids, the leaves curl and dry out, after which the parasite moves to other organs of the apple tree.

Often the leaves of fruit trees dry out along with the branches. The reason for this process may be freezing of the plant. Rapid damage to the shoot with a small break helps determine this. Abundant watering of garden crops in the fall, as well as placing the necessary fertilizers in the tree trunks, helps to ensure a good wintering of apple trees. Only developed plants tolerate winter well. In weak trees, gum clogs the blood vessels, there are only enough nutrients to form a small part of the leaves, and the remaining vegetative organs dry out at the blooming stage.

The reason for the rapid withering of shoots and leaves is considered to be the close proximity of groundwater. The seedling does not suffer from this, since its root system is superficial. Over time, the roots of the culture move deeper and reach the aquifer. Here they lack oxygen for normal nutrient absorption processes. Being in a humid environment, the root system of the plant begins to rot, which complicates the supply of nutrients to the shoots and leaves of the plant. The situation is aggravated by prolonged wet weather.

Sometimes drying can be observed on young seedlings. The reason for this phenomenon may be errors during planting, for example, an incorrectly chosen location or failure to observe the recommended distance between plants. When planting, it is necessary to retreat at least 3 meters from an adult tree, because this crop will take all the nutrients into the seedling and shade it. Other reasons for the drying out of a young plant are:

• recessed grafting site. This part of the crop should rise 5-6 centimeters above the soil surface;
• feeding the plant with manure, which leads to burns of the roots or an excess of other fertilizers;
• planting a seedling after the start of sap flow;
• insufficient watering of the crop.

Gardeners often notice problems with the development of apple trees in the summer. Drying of the plant in June can be caused by its freezing in the winter, as well as by wetting of the root system or as a result of the application of excess fertilizers. The leaves on an apple tree often dry out as a result of damage to the bark by rodents, such as mice or hares. There are enough nutrients in the tree for the leaves to bloom, but they will soon dry out. Problems with apple trees are also observed in August. The reason for this may be insufficient watering, the presence of diseases and pests on the plant.

Photo of the process of feeding apricot

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yaifd4DlZok

Leaves wither due to disease

Due to excess moisture, root rot can develop very quickly. If the soil in the pot has been damp for a long time, it turns sour, the roots begin to suffocate without access to air, and the leaves wither. We start watering more, and only make things worse for the plants. In this case, you will need to transplant the plant into new soil and treat the roots with phytosporin, foundationazole or other fungicide. In order for the plant to quickly adapt after transplantation and quickly restore the root system, growth stimulants and root formation stimulants can be used.

Due to too cold water for irrigation, cold drafts, fusarium may develop. For some unknown reason, the leaves begin to wither, then the whole plant dries out. Sometimes fungicide treatments can help. If you realize it too late, the plant cannot be restored and will have to be thrown away.

Due to a high dose of fertilizer, or the wrong fertilizer, you can burn the roots, and the leaves will first begin to wither, turn yellow and fly off.

Basic mistakes in care

Caring for the phalaenopsis orchid is not difficult, although many consider it to be finicky.

Tropical beauty required:

• Abundant watering;
• High air humidity;
• Quite high air temperatures;
• Regular fertilizing.

But not always and not everyone is able to give the plant what it needs.

There are times when a grower gives too much. It is because of this that orchids often:

• The leaves wither;
• The roots rot;
• There are no flower stalks for a long time;
• Flowers and buds fall.

There are many recovery methods, each of them will be effective only if the cause of the problems is identified.

Insufficient watering

Most often, orchid leaves wither due to insufficient watering.

The substrate with the plant simply dries out, the roots do not receive enough moisture and cannot nourish the leaves.

Due to insufficient watering of the orchid, the leaves tend to wither.

Those, in turn, show their dissatisfaction precisely with fading.

To restore the green part of the plant, you need to:

• Normalize watering. To do this, you should carefully monitor the condition of the root system; as soon as it dries and there is no condensation on the walls of the pot, you should please the trunk with moisture;
• If after a couple of such procedures the leaves do not restore their elasticity, you can use a solution of succinic acid. The product is famous for its revitalizing capabilities for indoor plants;
• Sugar syrup with glucose will also be a good helper. You can simply use watering agents for phalaenopsis. But there is another way to use it: the leaves of the plant are treated with sugar syrup; after drying, it forms a dense crust that prevents the leaves from losing moisture. Usually the procedure is carried out at night, and in the morning everything is washed off well and the leaves are blotted.

In case of insufficient watering, a shower for the plant is effective, and the water temperature is at least 35 degrees.

Excessive watering

An excess of moisture will also not lead to anything good; the root system of the phalaenopsis orchid will begin to rot, healthy roots will not be able to cover all the expenses necessary for foliage.

Leaf wilting is inevitable.

Excessive watering of the orchid can lead to rotting of the roots.

To restore the normal appearance and normalize the “well-being” of the trunk, it is necessary to carry out the following work:

• Remove the flower from the substrate, carefully examine the entire root system;
• Remove rotten roots down to living tissue, not forgetting to process the cuts;
• Dry the roots for 8-10 hours;
• Prepare new, drier and looser planting material and plant a flower in it;
• In the future, you should strictly ensure that there is no waterlogging, otherwise you can completely lose the standard.

Hypothermia

If the plant was hypothermic or even suffered frostbite, the rescue operation is carried out in the following sequence:

• The roots are inspected. When frozen, they will become soft, such rhizomes must be removed;
• If after removal there is not a single root left, it is worth increasing them; we have already told you how to do this correctly. Any of the described methods will do;
• If some roots managed to survive, it is necessary to help them grow as quickly as possible. This will be facilitated by moderate watering and regular fertilization.

Dense substrate

The reason for wilting of phalaenopsis leaves can also be compaction of the soil in which the plant grows and develops. The following factors contribute to this:

• The roots are not ventilated;
• Rotting begins;
• Excess moisture does not drain well.

Signs and causes of lesions

Hosta diseases are much less common than plant damage by insects. As a rule, diseases are the result of improper crop care, and well-thought-out agricultural technology ensures both the growth and development of the flower. In any case, to keep your garden in order, you need to quickly respond to any signs that appear. The presence of viral diseases is signaled by quite a few transformations in the state of the host. For example, this situation arises if yellow spots or a large accumulation of dots appear on the surface of the sheet plates.

The neoplasms are round in shape, and the affected area increases over time. Subsequently, the leaves curl at the edges and finally lose their attractive appearance. Other characteristic signs of the virus include dwarfism or simply slow development, as well as interveinal chlorosis. If you look at such a hosta, you can immediately understand that she is sick.

If the leaf blades are covered with large brown spots, then we are talking about phyllostictosis. Individual spots gradually connect with each other, forming a single area of ​​infection. It is all filled with fungus, which looks like a whitish or yellow coating. In most cases, not only the plates, but also the peduncles of the crop become white or yellow. Finally, all the damaged parts dry out, tissue necrosis begins, and the dry brown spots crack and break.

When a hosta suffers from gray rot, this can be detected in a timely manner by the condition of the edges of the plates - they begin to rot. In addition, an ashy coating forms on the surface, and the tops may dry out. Sometimes part of the leaf even dies immediately. If you miss the first symptoms, the entire surface of the leaf will be covered with rot, and the disease will spread to neighboring crops with fungal spores. The last incurable stages of the disease are characterized by complete drying of the leaf blades and stems.

Root collar rot is also characteristic of this crop. In this case, the development of the shrub first slows down or even stops completely, after which the leaf blades gradually lose their pigment. They turn yellow, “following” from the edges to the center, then dry and become completely discolored. Eventually the damaged leaves leave the plant. Root collar rot occurs due to various fungi that “activate” in the shade, on thickened plantings under conditions of excessive humidity.

The deepening of rhizomes also contributes to its development. If in the summer in June or July, in the very heat, the ends of the leaf plates begin to dry out, then perhaps we are talking about rust. The cause of its occurrence is a lack of irrigation, especially on hot days.

Bacterial “soft” rot manifests itself in the form of decomposition of cuttings and lower leaves. In addition, a characteristic unpleasant odor occurs, and the leaf blades become covered with brown spots. This disease occurs in places where the leaf is damaged, and therefore bacteria can affect the weakened plant. Sometimes “soft” rot manifests itself even after covering the crop with ice in cold weather.

We must not forget about petiol, which is often called crown rot and is also a fungal disease. It can be determined by the condition of the leaf blades - they first turn yellow and then fade from the edges to the center. In addition, their structure becomes more loose and even softened at the base. Large plates are torn away from the bush due to their weight and unreliable fastening of the base. Sometimes white threads of fungus called mycelium appear on the host.

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Ways to delay apricot flowering

With a later flowering period, the likelihood of frost decreases, thus it is possible to preserve more ovary and increase the yield of apricots. How to do it? There are several practice-tested answers to this question:

• Summer pruning. Pruning young branches carried out from mid-May to early June will delay the development of secondary shoots and stimulate the formation of flower buds on second- and third-order branches. This will ensure that flowers bloom later in the spring. The shoots need to be cut to one third of their length.
• Graft. This method is more complicated, especially for novice gardeners. An early-blooming apricot should be grafted onto a late-blooming plant. It is better to choose a rootstock among apricots, cherry plums, plums, sloe, sand cherry, and zherdels (wild apricots).
• Mulching with sawdust. To perform protection, the tree trunk circle is mulched with manure or peat. Then the snow is raked under the tree and compacted (layer up to 30 cm). It is sprinkled with sawdust and covered with snow again. As a result, the sawdust freezes into a single layer, which will delay the melting of snow in the spring. In cold soil, the root system will awaken later, which means the flowering of the tree will be delayed.
• Whitewashing the trunk with slaked lime with the addition of manure or clay. It will prevent the trunk from heating up in the first sun and will delay the blooming of the buds.

Whitewashing the trunk with slaked lime with the addition of manure or clay will delay the flowering period of apricots

Ice glaze protects buds from frost

Rules for selecting and storing scion for apricot grafting

The qualities of a good apricot scion (cutting) include:

Cuttings must have vegetative buds.

The branches should not be damaged, frozen, or infected with diseases or pests. The cuttings should be green when cut.

You can check the viability in the traditional way - bend it. If the cutting bends easily, then it has a good chance of taking root.

Rules for harvesting and storing apricot scion:

Be sure to open the package with cuttings once or twice a month and inspect them for mold or fungal damage.

Verticillium wilt

One of the causes of leaf changes is verticillium wilt. This apricot disease is caused by fungal spores. They can remain in the soil for a long time, but when exposed to insects they are transferred to the bark, remaining in the cracks of the trunk. Sometimes fungal spores spread so strongly in the soil that while the roots absorb nutrients, the spores also penetrate into the tree.

Having become infected with this infection, the plant begins to dry out, the leaves become yellow, lethargic, then dry out and die. If treatment is not started quickly, the trees will die and dry out. For this purpose they use “Fundazol”, “Topsin-M”, “Vitaros”, “Previkur”. As a preventive measure, the bottom of the trunk should be treated with lime mortar, which will get rid of insects that carry fungal spores.

"Topsin-M" will help fight infection