No matter how well you take care of your garden, things don't always go according to plan. Diseases, primarily caused by a virus, bacteria or fungi, are spreading. However, this is no reason to panic, because if the damage is detected early enough, natural and mechanical measures will help. Chemical sprays, on the other hand, should always be the last option.
Monilia fruit rot causes fruit to spoil
fruit tree diseases
There are many specific diseases that only affect certain types or varieties of fruit. These include, for example, the pear rust in pears and the curling disease in peaches. Many diseases can be curbed from the start by taking good precautions:
- Choosing a suitable location
- Refrain from using fruit types and varieties that are unsuitable for your own location
- Maintain plant spacing
- Keep crowns light, prune fruit trees regularly
- Preference for hardy varieties
In the following, we will introduce you to the diseases that often occur in many types of fruit and show you possible measures to combat them.
Monilia fruit rot
This disease is caused by the monilia fungus, which is mainly spread by wasps during fruit ripening.
damage picture:
Initially, small rotten spots appear on the fruit, but these quickly spread. The ring-shaped, grey-brown upholstery mold is typical. The fruits rot and can no longer be used.
Control measures:
The affected fruits should be collected and destroyed. During the winter pruning of the fruit tree, remove the diseased fruit that is still on the tree, as these mummies will infect healthy fruit next year
branch monilia
This is also a disease caused by a fungus. It mainly occurs in sour cherries and other types of stone fruit.
damage picture:
During flowering, especially in rainy weather, the flowers wither and dry up. As the disease progresses, the shoots and leaves die off, which is why the disease is often referred to as “peak drought”.
Control measures:
Immediately cut back the diseased and already dead shoots down to the healthy wood. If a heavy infestation is expected, spray an approved and bee-safe fungicide into the open flowers late at night. In rainy weather, the treatment should be repeated a week later.
fruit tree cancer
Fruit tree canker primarily affects apple trees. The pathogen is also a fungus, so the disease has nothing to do with human cancer.
damage picture:
Cancerous growths develop on the trunk or branches and expand. The shoot or branch located above these growths usually dies.
Control measures:
As a preventative measure, the soil requirements of the selected fruit species should be taken into account. Also avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen and paint over larger cuts and other wounds, as this is where the fungus prefers to enter. Infected twigs and weaker branches are cut off a good hand's breadth above the cancer site, cancerous areas on the trunk and on stronger branches are generously cut out and rubbed with a wound care product.
tips
Many diseases are also transmitted by pests: Another reason to declare war on aphids, wasps and the like.