Effective peach pest and disease control measures
Peach, a symbol of tenderness and exquisite taste. Fresh and canned, sweet and juicy, many people love them. And thanks to global warming and painstaking work of breeders, peach trees grow in places where they never dreamed of growing them before. The fight against pests and diseases of the peach is a prerequisite for a good harvest.
What varieties are disease resistant
In order for peach trees to give a good harvest, you should choose zoned varieties, correctly form the crown, and, if necessary, cover the plantings for the winter.
Plant the peach in an area protected from the wind, away from water. The plant is often affected by diseases and pests, therefore it needs proper care. The most popular and delicious varieties are:
- Cardinal, who received the highest score for the taste of large (up to 150 grams) fruits; is able to withstand diseases and pests, suffers in case of recurrent frosts; variety with medium ripening periods;
- Veteran, a well-known variety of Canadian selection, resistant to disease and frost, large fruits (up to 130 grams), with fragrant and tender pulp;
- Kremlin - bred by domestic breeders, can grow in the gardens of the Middle Strip, adapts to any weather conditions, is resistant to disease and frost;
- White Swan is a medium early variety with high disease resistance and high yield, suitable for cultivation in Central Russia.
Late ripening varieties are well transported, have excellent taste, but can only grow in southern regions. These include Veteran, Jaminat, Frost.
Symptoms and treatment of diseases of peach, peach trees
Diseases and pests affect fragrant fruits, leaves and tree trunk. Timely correct treatment can protect plantings and preserve the harvest.
Leaf diseases
There are several of them, all are capable of destroying a peach, plantings need immediate treatment.
Clasterosporium disease (perforated spot) of peach
A fungal disease typical not only for peaches, but for all stone fruit horticultural crops. The fungus affects all parts of the plant: buds, leaves, flowers and ovary, even young shoots. Leaves that are covered with red-brown spots are especially affected. The leaf tissue at this point becomes thinner and dies off. Holes appear on the leaves with a characteristic reddish edging.
Lack of processing leads to the spread of the fungus, shoots and even peach fruits are affected.Then red-brown spots are formed on their surface.
Curl
It is also caused by fungus. This is the most common disease that peaches suffer from. Marsupial fungus, the causative agent of the disease, hibernates in cracks in the bark, inside the buds of a fruit tree. In the spring, the disease spreads and affects young buds and leaves.
The leaf tissue swells, acquiring first light green, then reddish, and then brown.
The swellings are covered with a waxy coating, after which the bubbles dry up, the leaves become thicker, turn black. The tree sheds leaves and does not bear fruit. Fruits do not grow, affected leaves curl and fall off prematurely. A tree that has dropped its foliage becomes defenseless and can die with the onset of cold weather.
Coccomycosis
With this fungal disease, very small red dots appear on the leaves, which then merge into large foci. The spores of the fungus are found in gray or pinkish bumps on the back of the leaf. The fungus needs warm, humid weather to spread. Coccomycosis mainly affects weakened trees.
Chlorosis
A disease caused by a decrease in the iron content in the tissues of a garden plant, a violation of photosynthesis, in which the production of chlorophyll decreases. The disease is manifested by premature yellowing of the leaves, while the veins remain green.
The leaves become smaller, curl around the edges, fall off, the root system suffers, in severe cases the tree stops bearing fruit, and young shoots die.
Scab
Disease affecting leaves, fruits and young shoots of peach. Light spots appear on the leaves, they crumble prematurely. When damaged, the fruits are deformed, covered with black crusts. The young bark of the shoots cracks, they stop growing and dry up.
Trunk ailments
The trunk of the peach tree is also susceptible to various diseases.
Gum therapy
Peaches are characterized by gum flow, when a thick dark substance appears on the branches and trunk of stone fruit trees. The process can begin after a frosty winter, as a result of improper pruning, damage by pests (caterpillars and beetles). Sometimes gum flow begins due to excessive watering or the location of plantings on clay soil.
Cytosporosis
It is a fungal infection of the bark of the fruit tree. It dries up, cracks, in a peach the affected area turns yellow, gum begins to stand out. The disease is spreading; if untreated, individual branches or the entire tree completely dry out.
Fetal diseases
Peach fruits are also characterized by diseases in the absence of proper care.
Moniliosis
Gray rot or moniliosis is a disease characteristic of all stone fruits. It is especially dangerous for a peach if its flowering coincided with warm rainy weather. This is a fungal disease, the causative agent of which hibernates in small fallen branches. First, the flowers of the plant are affected, they dry out, but do not fall off, continuing to infect the tree.
After that, the ovaries and fruits are affected. The resulting small black spot grows, the mold completely affects the fruit. Rotten fruits shrivel, dry up and crumble.
The infection can be carried by garden pests, it is transmitted from the affected fetus to a healthy one, insects often become the cause of moniliosis.
To preserve the harvest, you need to know how to deal with moniliosis. For prevention, the tree is trimmed, before and after flowering, treated with suitable fungicides (Horus, Topaz, Topsin).
Fruit rot
Fungal disease that affects the fetus. It is activated when they acquire a small size (about a walnut). The fruits stop growing, begin to rot and fall off. In a short time, you can lose the entire crop. This is the simplest answer to the question of why peaches rot right on trees.If fruit rot is seen on the tree, the affected fruit is destroyed and the plant is treated with fungicides, sometimes several times, depending on the stage of maturity.
Powdery mildew
Fungal disease in which first the leaves, and then the young shoots and fruits of the tree are covered with a white bloom. The affected leaves resemble a boat, the fruits begin to crack, from a distance they look like sprinkled with flour. The dots first appear on the seamy side of the leaves. White spots increase in size, then the leaves fall off, the shoots turn black, and the fruits rot and crumble.
What to do to avoid losing your fruit tree? To combat the disease, pruning is carried out, the trunk circles are dug up, and fungicides are sprayed in spring and autumn.
Pests and the fight against them
In addition to diseases, the plant is affected by pests. It is also necessary to fight with them.
Aphid
Its invasion begins in early May and may continue until harvest. The pest is easy to spot on the leaves - these are small black, green or white insects. They cover the buds with paddy and, in the absence of protection, form huge colonies on the peach tree in a short period. For protection, the trunk circle is cleared of weeds, dill or other herbs with a spicy aroma are planted around the peach. In case of severe damage, the tree is treated with folk or chemical means.
Flower beetles
A small beetle (about 5 millimeters) with a long proboscis that destroys flowers. They crumble, the tree does not bear fruit. Weevils rise on branches in spring, after the soil warms up to + 10 ° С. When the temperature drops by 3-5 ° C, the beetles fall into a daze. In the early spring morning, you can simply shake them off the tree onto the cloth spread below and burn them.
If necessary, treat the plant with suitable insecticides.
Mites
Ticks are difficult to notice; their appearance is signaled by a cobweb that appears on the tree. Destroyed by spraying trees with infusion of chamomile, tansy, tobacco. In severe cases, insecticides are used. If the plantings are not protected, the leaves affected by the mite dry out, wither, the peach may die, in addition, the pests on the cobweb move to other trees by the wind.
Fruit moth
She eats leaves, buds, even seeds of young peaches. The pest hibernates under the bark. It is activated during budding. The first line of butterflies appears in June. In August, a second wave of the pest is possible.
Eastern moth
A very dangerous pest that can affect most garden trees. Pupae hibernate under the bark; after the temperature rises to + 15 ° C, brown butterflies with wide wings appear. They lay a large number of eggs, of which caterpillars appear in 6-12 days.
The caterpillar very quickly eats the leaves, flowers and fruits of the plant, completely destroying the crop.
Shield
A harmful insect settles on the bark of a tree. The body covered with a dense shell can reach 7 millimeters. The result of its activity is: wilting of leaves, the appearance of red dots on peaches, loosening of the bark and wilting of young shoots.
Popular drugs for pest and disease control
In order for the peach to take root in the garden and delight with the harvest, it needs a sunny, wind-protected place. The tree is regularly cut, the damaged and old bark is cleaned off, the trunk is whitewashed, capturing the lower, largest, branches. The trunk circle is timely cleared of weeds, fallen leaves, small branches. They dig it deeply, it is useful to sprinkle it with wood ash.
The tree needs to be processed regularly to protect it from diseases and pests. When choosing what to treat, you need to remember that traditional methods of exposure are safer, and industrial ones are highly effective.
Folk recipes
To protect against pests, spraying the tree with tobacco infusion is suitable.Use 40 grams of raw material per liter of water. Insist for 2 days. Then they filter and add a little laundry soap so that the solution does not roll. The remedy is effective against aphids, ticks; infusion of tobacco dust is used for curliness.
Celandine solution is used for pests. 1 kilogram of dry grass is soaked for 36 hours in a bucket of water, which is tightly closed with a lid. Then the solution is filtered and used for spraying. Helps with caterpillars, aphids, moths.
Professional remedies
To combat peach diseases, Bordeaux liquid is used (processing is carried out in autumn and early spring). "Horus" protects the tree from fruit rot, coccomycosis, clasterosporiosis. "Topaz" is treated against powdery mildew and fruit rot. "Skor" prevents coccomycosis, curly leaves, clasterosporium disease.
Processing is carried out using protective equipment (glasses, gloves, apron) in strict accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. Peach is a moody fruit tree, but patience, experience and love for your own garden will surely be rewarded with an excellent harvest.
