Peach: pest and disease control, treatment and treatment

Peach, a symbol of tenderness and exquisite taste. Fresh and canned, sweet and juicy, they have been enjoyed by many people. And thanks to global warming and the painstaking work of breeders, peach trees grow in places where they never dreamed of growing them before. Peach pest and disease control is a prerequisite for a good harvest.

Which varieties are disease resistant

In order for peach trees to give a good harvest, you should choose zoned varieties, form the crown correctly, if necessary, cover plantings for the winter.

Peach is best planted in areas protected from the wind, away from water. The plant is often affected by diseases and pests, so 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; able to resist diseases and pests, suffers in case of return frosts; variety with medium ripening;
Veteran, well-known variety of Canadian selection, resistant to diseases and frosts, 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, resistant to diseases and frosts;
White Lebed is a mid-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 grow only in the southern regions. These include Veteran, Jaminat, Frost.

Symptomatics and treatment of diseases of peach, peach trees

Diseases and pests affect fragrant fruits, leaves and tree trunk. Timely correct processing can protect plantings and preserve the harvest.

Leaf diseases

There are several of them, all are capable of ruining a peach, plantings need immediate treatment.

Clusterosporiasis (perforated spotting) of peach

A fungal disease that is characteristic 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 in this place becomes thinner and dies. Holes appear on the leaves with a characteristic reddish border.

Lack of processing leads to the spread of the fungus, shoots and even peach fruits are affected. Then red-brown spots form on their surface.

Curly

It is also caused by a fungus. This is the most common disease that peaches are susceptible to. Marsupial fungus, the causative agent of the disease, hibernates in the cracks of the bark, inside the buds of the fruit tree. In the spring, the disease spreads and affects young buds and leaves.

The leaf tissue swells, first becoming light green, then reddish, and then brown.

Swellings are covered with a wax coating, after which the bubbles dry up, the leaves become thicker, turn black. The tree sheds its leaves and does not bear fruit. The fruits do not grow, the affected leaves curl and fall prematurely. A tree that has shed its leaves becomes defenseless and may 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. Fungus spores are found in gray or pinkish bumps on the reverse side 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.

Leaves become smaller, curl around the edges, fall off, the root system suffers, in severe cases the tree stops bearing fruit, young shoots die.

Scab

A disease that affects the leaves, fruits and young shoots of peach. Light spots appear on the leaves, they crumble prematurely. The fruits are deformed when damaged, covered with black crusts. The young bark of shoots cracks, they stop growing and dry out.

Trunk ailments

The trunk of a peach tree is also prone to various diseases.

Gum flow

Peaches are characterized by gum disease, 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, pest damage (caterpillars and beetles). Sometimes gum disease begins due to excessive watering or the location of plantings on clay soil.

Cytosporosis

This is a fungal infection of the fruit tree bark. It dries up, cracks, the affected area turns yellow in peach, gum begins to stand out. The disease is spreading; if left untreated, individual branches or the entire tree dry out completely.

Diseases of fetuses

Peach fruits are also prone to disease if left untreated.

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 up, but do not fall off, continuing to infect the tree.

After the ovaries and fruits are affected. The resulting small black spot grows, the mold completely affects the fruit. Rotten fruits shrivel, wither and fall off.

Infection can be carried by garden pests, it is transmitted from the affected fruit to a he althy one, often insects become the cause of moniliosis.

To save the harvest, you need to know how to deal with moniliosis. For prevention, the tree is pruned, before and after flowering, treated with suitable fungicides (Horus, Topaz, Topsin).

Fruit rot

Fungal disease affecting fruits. It is activated when they acquire a small size (the size of 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 the trees. If fruit rot is noticed on the tree, the affected fruits are destroyed, and the plant is treated with fungicides, sometimes several times, depending on the stage of maturity.

Powdery mildew

A fungal disease in which first the leaves, and then the young shoots and fruits of the tree are covered with 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 underside 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 in order not to lose the fruit tree? To combat the disease, pruning is carried out, tree trunks are dug up, and fungicides are sprayed in spring and autumn.

Pests and their control

In addition to diseases, the plant is affected by pests. They also need to be fought.

Aphid

Its invasion begins in early May and can continue until the harvest. The pest is easy to spot on the leaves - these are small insects of black, green or white. They cover the buds with honeydew and, in the absence of protection, form huge colonies on the peach tree in a short period. For protection, the near-stem circle is cleaned 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 weevils

Small beetle (about 5 millimeters) with a long proboscis that destroys flowers. They crumble, the tree does not bear fruit. Weevils rise to the branches in spring, after the soil warms up to +10 °C. When the temperature drops by 3-5 ° C, the beetles fall into a stupor. 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.

Pincers

Ticks are hard to spot, their appearance is signaled by the web that appears on the tree. Destroy 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, wither, the peach may die, in addition, the pests on the web are moved by the wind to other trees.

Fruit Moth

She eats leaves, buds, even the pits of young peaches. The pest hibernates under the bark. Activated during the budding period. The first line of butterflies appears in June. A second wave of the pest is possible in August.

Eastern codling moth

Very dangerous pest that can infect most garden trees. The 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, from which caterpillars appear after 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 her activity is: wilting of leaves, the appearance of red dots on peaches, loosening of the bark and wilting of young shoots.

Popular pest and disease control products

In order for a peach to take root in the garden and enjoy the harvest, it needs a sunny, wind-protected place. The tree is regularly pruned, the damaged and old bark is cleaned off, the trunk is whitewashed, capturing the lower, largest, branches. The trunk circle is promptly cleaned of weeds, fallen leaves, small branches. It is dug deep, it is useful to sprinkle with wood ash.

Tree should be treated regularly to protect against diseases and pests. When choosing what to process, you need to remember that folk 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 materials per liter of water. Insist for 2 days. Then filter and add a little laundry soap so that the solution does not roll.The remedy is effective against aphids, ticks; An infusion of tobacco dust is used for curly hair.

From pests, a solution of celandine is used. 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 against caterpillars, aphids, moths.

Professional products

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, clasterosporiasis. "Topaz" is treated from powdery mildew and fruit rot. "Skor" prevents coccomycosis, leaf curl, clasterosporiasis.

Processing is carried out using protective equipment (glasses, gloves, apron) in strict accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. The peach is a capricious fruit tree, but patience, experience and love for your own garden will surely be rewarded with a great harvest.