Diseases, pests of peach trees and their treatment
Growing peaches in the home garden is a very rewarding and tasty experience. Peaches, like other fruit trees, are susceptible to diseases and insect attacks, and therefore require protection and care. This article will be devoted to diseases and pests of peach trees, it will discuss ways to combat and prevent these unpleasant factors, as well as provide descriptions of diseases with photographs.
Why does a peach rot on a tree?
The reason for this may be a fairly common disease of stone fruit trees - fruit rot. Preventive treatments against this disease on peach should be started already during kidney swelling. For spraying, “Miedzian” or “Sillit 400 KS” preparations are used. The second time the same treatment is repeated after the flowering of the trees ends.
These two treatments with fungicides should significantly reduce the possibility of spreading rotting fruit. It should also be remembered that the disease can occur due to weather conditions, rot is often caused by excess moisture in the soil or prolonged rainy periods.
What problems can arise when growing peaches?
Peach trees are very sensitive to low sub-zero temperatures. Plants also react painfully to insect infestation by parasites, to emerging and progressive fungal and bacterial diseases. The gardener should monitor the condition of the trees in order to help the garden in time.
Important! During flowering, peach trees cannot tolerate low temperatures and can show color even at an air temperature of + 3 ° С. That is why it is important when planting a seedling to choose a place protected from the north by the wall of a house or other capital structure.
Peach Diseases and Methods
Like other stone fruits, peach is susceptible to fungal and bacterial diseases. Fungal diseases can be successfully combated using both preventive measures and treatments with various fungicides. The treatments are applied at different stages of tree development during the warm season, from early spring to late autumn.
Bacterial diseases have no treatment, the main way to combat them is to prevent them with preventive measures. Parts of the tree infected with bacterial diseases are removed and burned. Sometimes this is enough for the tree to subsequently remain healthy and bear fruit. If the infection has gone too far, it is necessary to remove the entire tree from the garden so as not to infect healthy trees.
Fungicides for the prevention and treatment of peaches contain the following substances:
- captan;
- chlorothaloyl;
- mycobutanyl;
- propiconazole;
- copper;
- sulfur.
Read also about the basic rules of warming a peach tree for the winter.
Peach Fruit Rot
Fruit rot or moniliosis is a serious disease of peach trees, affecting all parts of the plant (flowers, branches, shoots and fruits) from spring to ripening. Treatment with fungicides will help establish preventive control over the development of the disease, but does not guarantee that the disease does not develop under the concomitant weather conditions (dampness, heat and plenty of moisture), especially at the end of the season, closer to the harvest. Nevertheless, fungicide treatments for growing peaches in our climate are necessary .
Moniliosis is activated in early spring, during the blooming of flower buds. Warm and humid weather contributes to the rapid development and spread of fruit rot. The optimal temperature for the rapid development of the disease is +22 ... + 24 ° C, but a slower development of moniliosis can occur at temperatures up to + 3 ° C to + 30 ° C. Windy rainy weather is an ideal environment for the spread of fungus, because moisture on the trees (rain, dew, irrigation) provides moisture for the germination of fungal spores.
As the fungus grows, it forms a mycelium, in which spores mature. They look like thin weightless pollen and are easily tolerated by wind and rain. The fruiting areas that produce spores are small, ash-gray “pillows” that appear on the surface of infected brown-colored wood tissue. On mature infected fruits, the foci of fruit rot infection can be very clearly seen.
Did you know? Peaches in ancient times were known as Persian apples. It is from here that the modern name of peach trees went.
Kleasterosporiosis
Kleasterosporiosis or hole blotch - the causative agent of the disease is the fungus Clasterosporium carpophilum. The disease got its name from the symptoms appearing on the leaves, in the form of small brown spots, which, when dried, fall out, leaving a through hole on the leaf plate.
This mushroom easily survives the winter, and in the conditions of a humid southern winter it can even begin to develop in the winter months. The fungus infects and kills sleeping kidneys, while some infected fruit buds may look lacquered . This is one of the symptoms of hole spotting that occurs when gum isolates the infection from the rest of the plant.
Damage to infected leaves and fruits begins with the appearance of small purple spots, the area of which gradually expands and becomes brown. With prolonged cool and humid weather, a velvety brownish mass of fungus may be present on the fruits and leaves.
When the weather becomes warm, leaf damage falls off the leaf, leaving holes in this place. Damage to the fruit will be on the upper (stem) side, in this place the fruit tissue will become roughly textured, almost cork.
Did you know? There are more than 700 varieties of peaches, some Chinese varieties have flat fruits like hockey pucks.
In order to cope with peaches, it is necessary to protect sleeping kidneys. A single treatment with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture before the autumn-winter rains provides winter protection for the peach tree . In the warmer months, the tree also needs protection from hole spotting. Most often, gardeners use fungicide treatment of trees.
The treatment is carried out by the method of fine spraying on the surface of the plant. The active ingredient captan is usually used, because copper-containing fungicides, when used at this time of the year, can cause injury to plants (phytotoxicity). There are no resistant varieties of peach to claustosporiosis, so a gardener should pay special attention to the prevention of the disease and the timely removal of diseased parts of the plant.
Peach scab
The appearance of brown spots on peach fruits often indicates scab disease. This is a fungal disease found in plums and apricots. Diseases are affected by the fruits, leaf blades and shoots of this year. Long periods of dampness at the initial stage of development in the spring stimulate the onset of the disease. The fungus that causes the scab remains in the winter in the wood infected in the summer. Spores develop in fissures of the cortex. Mushrooms grow most quickly when the air temperature is within +18 ... + 24 ° C.
We advise you to read about the features of proper pruning of peach in the spring.
Symptoms of scab:
- Damage is visible on the fruits in the form of small roundish spots of brown-green color and develop on fruits next to the petiole. After some time, the spots become more extensive, connect with neighboring ones, acquire a dark green or black color.
- Sick fruits will lag behind in growth, have deformation or cracks. Below the infected leaves there will be red-green spots. Diseased leaves dry out and fall off early.
It is also important to regularly prune diseased branches to help the tree maintain good health in the future. It is especially important in the spring to cut infected branches before the buds open. When trimming, it is necessary to thin out the crown sufficiently to stimulate the access of air. It is necessary to observe the development of fruits in search of signs of scab fungus.
Important! Undoubtedly, brown spots of scab slightly reduce the external beauty of peach fruits, but do not affect the quality of fruits with a small degree of infection. Such fruits are edible; before eating, it is recommended to peel them and eat them fresh.
You can treat scab on peach trees using fungicides applied to infected plants every decade from the end of flowering. Processing with chemicals ends 40 days before the start of the harvest.
Cytosporosis
Cytosporosis (Cytosporosis) is a common fungal disease of fruit trees. On the affected wood parts, part of the bark dries first, then branches die in this place. Cytosporosis infection most often threatens weakened plants with damaged bark . Plots of wood damaged by cytosporosis become red. Numerous dark conidia of the fungus ("goosebumps") are formed in the diseased cortex, which are randomly scattered over the affected surface.
Treatment of peach from cytosporosis is possible only in the initial stages of the disease, until the fungus penetrates into the deep tissues of the plant. Damaged areas of wood by cytosporosis are removed with a sharp knife. During the removal operation, healthy wood is also taken 2 cm deep. To disinfect the cutting site, the wounds are treated with blue vitriol (2% solution) and covered with garden var.
Find out also when and how to plant a peach.
Leaf curl
The disease is caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans causing deformation and curling of peach leaves. Fungicides used to combat other diseases, such as fruit rot, effectively affect this disease.
The disease is promoted by moderate temperatures, from +8 to + 27 ° C, the optimal environment for the development of the fungus is air temperature + 20 ° C and humid weather during the early development of the kidneys. In this case, air humidity should be above 98%.
Two stages of fungus development make this disease unique. One type of spore is made from curled (infected) leaves in spring. The fungus can infect any side of the leaf. The infected and thickened part of the growing leaf grows slower than the rest of the leaf plate, causing the leaf to curl. On these thick sections of leaves spores are formed, during germination they form another phase of the fungus, which grows on the tips of young shoots and with them, not lagging behind their growth.
Sanitary and preventative measures are not effective for curly leaves . Some peach varieties have been bred resistant to this disease, which is why cultivation of resistant varieties and treatment with fungicides are the main tools in the fight against this disease. The spraying of copper-containing fungicides during tree dormancy (autumn and early spring), as well as its seasonal treatments, are very important.
Did you know? Nectarines are just a variety of peaches, whose skin is not covered with down, but smooth, like a plum.
Pests
Usually pests of peach trees appear if the gardener did not attend to preventive measures or did not want to treat the garden with insecticides. If protection measures are constantly neglected, pests can breed on peach trees in such numbers that the owner will not wait for a full harvest of fruits.
Peach aphid
Peach striped aphids are tiny insects whose chitin is painted in two colors (green and black). The body length of the pest does not exceed 1-2 mm. Insects live in large colonies, and also multiply rapidly. During the warm season, more than three generations of aphids can hatch . They feed on the juice of leaves and young, not lignified shoots. Aphid colonies are located on the back of leaf blades and on the tips of young twigs. The consequence of their nutrition is a halt in the growth of infected parts of the tree, as well as twisting and deformation of the leaves.
Gardeners often apply spraying of the aerial parts of the tree with various organic decoctions and infusions. For example, an infusion on tobacco leaves (100 g tobacco leaves per 5 liters of water) or a decoction of hot pepper (4-5 pods per 5 liters of water) is very effective. If the invasion of pests is noticed late, and their number is critical for a given tree, they immediately process the peach with the help of insecticides: Karate, Aktara, Inta Vir.
Peach aphids have natural enemies in the world of insects, these are ladybugs and lacewings . Gardeners buy packages of eggs from these predator insects in specialized stores and lay them in secluded areas of the garden.
Aphids also scare away plants that emit a pungent odor (volatile). Such plants are planted near peach trees; they serve as a border that aphids do not cross. These are plants such as marigolds, marigolds, dill, fennel. There are also plants, for example, nasturtium, which are so attractive to it that aphids ignore all plants except these. Therefore, it is worth noting a peach tree to plant a dozen of these plants on a flower bed, all the aphids living in the garden will gather on them.
Peach Worms
Quite often, such a situation arises when a person breaks an appetizing peach, and a worm sits in the fruit, around which the flesh is covered with brown excrement. Such a fruit is no longer suitable for human consumption, therefore, it is necessary to fight pests even at the stage of flowering and tying peaches.
There are several varieties of insects that lay eggs in the fruits of stone fruits, so that future larvae have something to eat. Here are two varieties of pests most common on peach trees.
Did you know? In China, peach fruits are a symbol of longevity and good luck.
Oriental Fruit Moth (Grapholita molesta)
The pest has a grayish-brown color and a wingspan of about 12 mm. The pest is active at night. After hatching, the caterpillar (larva) has a length of about 1.5 mm, its body is white and its head is black. The mature caterpillar has a length of 10-12 mm, 6 legs and a pinkish body with a brown head. Caterpillar is the most dangerous pest of peaches and other fruits of stone fruit crops (apples, pears and pink buds).
The pest develops more than three generations of fruit moths per year . Insects hibernate in the form of mature larvae inside cocoons fixed in protected areas on a tree or in plant debris at the base of a tree trunk. In early spring, the larvae pupate, that is, they pass into the non-feeding stage when the larva turns into an adult insect. Adult fruit moths appear during peach blossom. Insects lay eggs on branches, from which larvae are subsequently hatched.
These caterpillars of the first generation grow on the tips of the branches of a peach tree, because of their feeding, the tips of the branches fade and die. The next generation of this season is eating fruit. Being in fruits and branches, caterpillars are protected from insecticides. Preventive treatment of peach with insecticides at the beginning of the summer season of adult moths will help to avoid pests in the garden throughout the season.
The presence of fruit moths on a peach tree can be detected using traps containing pheromones (synthetic insect attractants). Trees treated with preparations containing substances such as permethrin, lambda-cygalotrin or malathion should be used if the average trap is more than 10 individuals.
It is not recommended to use preparations containing malathion within 7 days before harvesting, and preparations containing permethrin or lambda-cygalotrin should not be used within 14 days after harvesting. In addition, you can not do more than 8 treatments with permethrin per season for all pests.
Советуем также почитать об осенней обрезке персиковых деревьев.
Плодовый долгоносик (Conotrachelus nenuphar)
Является одним из самых вредных насекомых-вредителей для плодов персика. Белые безногие личинки — это «черви», так часто встречающиеся во фруктах, которые не были должным образом защищены от этих вредителей. Взрослые особи — серые долгоносики, зимующие в опавших листьях, в земле под персиком или рядом с ним в растительных остатках. Взрослые становятся активными примерно в то время, когда начинают цвести персики. Они атакуют деревья, так как питаются бутонами и завязями фруктов.
Самки прокалывают кожицу завязавшегося плода и откладывают яйца в развивающийся фрукт. Личинки вылупливаются в персике, после чего развиваются и кормятся внутри плодов вплоть до взросления. Если долгоносик отложит яйца в небольшой фрукт, то обычно такой плод опадает раньше времени.
Сбор и уничтожение опавших фруктов поможет уменьшить заражение персика плодовым долгоносиком в будущем. Зрелые личинки падают на землю в то время, когда они готовы к окукливанию. Вредитель выводит два-три поколения в год.
Успешный контроль над плодовым долгоносиком зависит от уничтожения взрослых особей прежде, чем они смогут отложить яйца в плоды. Для этого персик обрабатывают по листу препаратами, содержащими малатион. Первую обработку проводят, как только опадут лепестки цветов. В дальнейшем деревья обрабатывают через каждые 10–14 дней, учащая график распылений в дождливые периоды. Увеличение интервалов распыления приведёт к снижению контроля за плодовым долгоносиком.
Сокращение интервалов между обработками (раз в 7–10 дней), особенно для первых нескольких защитных опрыскиваний, улучшит контроль вредителя. Первые несколько опрыскиваний после окончания цветения персика являются самыми важными, так как они нацелены на перезимовавших взрослых особей, которые в дальнейшем могут отложить яйца для первого поколения.
Профилактика заболеваний и повреждений вредителями
Чтобы персиковому саду не был нанесён урон, гораздо проще принять профилактические меры, чем впоследствии лечить заражённые вредителями и болезнями деревья.
Профилактика болезней и распространения вредителей:
- Проводить два раза в год, весной и осенью, санитарную обрезку кроны деревья. Во время обрезки удалять больные и повреждённые ветки и висящие на ветвях мумифицированные плоды, выпиливать затеняющие крону ветви.
- По окончанию сезона плодоношения, осенью, проводить уборку растительного мусора у подножия деревьев. Собирать и выносить за пределы сада опавшие плоды, ветки, листья. Чтобы исключить распространение по саду вредителей и болезней, растительные остатки рекомендуется закопать на глубину не менее 30 см или сжечь. Сжигание мусора нужно проводить вне участка.
- Проводить побелку ствола известковым раствором в начале зимы и ранней весной. В раствор для побелки обязательно необходимо добавлять медный купорос. Побелка послужит древесному стволу защитой от солнечных ожогов и не позволит образоваться трещинам и язвам, через которые в древесину могут проникнуть патогены различных заболеваний.
- Перекапывать почву в приствольном круге персиковых деревьев. Перекопку проводят осенью, обычно в конце сентября. Это время является наиболее подходящим, так как в этот период насекомые и их личинки прячутся в грунте, устраиваясь на длинную зимовку. Перекопка проводится на глубину штыка лопаты с оборотом пласта так, чтобы нижний слой почвы оказался наверху. Вместе с нижним слоем грунта на поверхности грунта окажутся зимующие насекомые и вредители корней, где и погибнут одновременно с наступлением первых морозов.
Important! Перекапывание почвы в приствольном круге плодовых деревьев желательно совмещать с внесением в прикорневую зону органических удобрений (навоза, перегноя). Растение, получающее полноценное питание, будет здоровым и гораздо успешнее сможет сопротивляться возникновению болезней и нападению вредителей.
Садоводу, выращивающему в саду плодоносящее персиковое дерево, необходимо принять все меры для защиты растения от грибковых и бактериальных возбудителей болезней, а также оградить сад от атаки насекомых. Все хлопоты будут возмещены владельцу вкусным урожаем ароматных персиков.
