Resinous discharges may form on some branches or the trunk of an apricot tree. This is dissolved plant tissue. In technical jargon, this is referred to as gummose. But why does gum flow occur and what are the consequences for the tree?
While the resin looks nice, it indicates problems
Affected apricot trees
The apricot tree is one of the fruit trees in the home garden that is particularly susceptible to resin flow. It can also be observed that mostly young or old trees are affected. This is because they have either not yet developed their full resilience due to unfavorable living conditions or have already lost it.
outbreak of the disease
Resin flow is a physiological disorder of the apricot tree that is easily recognizable from the outside. Resin-like outgrowths appear on branches or trunk. They are reminiscent of the resin of conifers, but are formed from dissolved plant tissue.
The resin mainly escapes from injured parts of the tree. The cracks can also be very small and barely noticeable. Occasionally, fruit can also be affected by resin flow.
Causes of resin flow
The resin flow that occurs is not a symptom of any particular disease. Rather, it is a feature of a weakened apricot tree. There can be a number of reasons for this weakness:
- heavy and wet soils
- frost and wetness
- Damage to the bark from frost or cutting
- Mistakes when fertilizing
But also various diseases such as leaf curl, Monilia, Valsa disease and scrap shot disease can weaken the tree so that it develops gumosis. Likewise the pest bark moth.
effects
The exit points are open doors for pathogens and thus promote the outbreak of other diseases. But the flow of resin can also spread inwards. Then he clogs the supply channels of the tree. The affected area is no longer properly supplied with water and nutrients. Due to this undersupply, it dies off over time. In the worst case, the whole apricot tree can die off.
Act right
In the future, optimize the living conditions of the tree to avoid further weakening or to strengthen it. An apricot tree that is already resinous must be counteracted with pruning measures.
- Cut affected branches back to 20 cm long cones
- Resin flow forms at the spigot
- this dies off over time and can be removed
- so the remaining healthy tissue is not damaged
tips
Endangered apricot trees should generally be pruned in the summer after harvest. This promotes rapid wound healing and slows down growth. Under no circumstances should scissors be used in winter.