Leaves turn black on a pear: why, what to do and how to treat, how to deal with the disease

The leaves are turning black on the pear - just right to grab your head. Just yesterday, the tree was pleasing with a green crown and an abundance of ovaries. And today it is charred. This problem occurs in inexperienced gardeners who neglect the rules for keeping a tree in the garden. But even competent gardeners are not immune from trouble. The plant may be affected by an infection introduced from a neighboring untreated area. To save the tree and preserve the crop, the exact cause of blackening should be determined and treatment should begin immediately.

Possible causes of blackening of the leaves and how to deal with them

Trouble usually becomes apparent in the summer. In order to timely see the appearance of the first black leaves, you should regularly inspect the plant.

Causes of blackening and drying of the crown:

• disease;
• pest infestation;
• illiterate care.

It is important to start treatment in a timely manner, because in advanced cases the entire tree will have to be removed.

Bacterial infection

Bacterial burn is a dangerous disease. Pears are sick at the age of 10 years. The infection infects the tree through leaf stomata, sores on the bark, or insect bites that have previously visited diseased trees.

To prevent severe consequences, the first signs of the disease should be identified:

• first black uneven spots appear on the leaves;
• then the leaves turn completely black and curl;
• leaves fall, and blackness passes to young shoots;
• affected twigs dry out and the trunk turns black.

If at the first signs you do not start treating the pear, then in 2-3 weeks you will have to cut it down. Worst of all, the infection will spread to the rest of the trees in the garden.

It is important to remember: at the first signs of the disease, blackened leaves must be cut and burned. Then cut out the affected shoots, spray the whole tree with a solution of a copper-containing preparation.

Scab

This is a fungal disease affecting young pears less than 10 years old. The reasons for its appearance are:

• wet weather;
• thick plantings;
• genetic predisposition of the plant.

Scab is easy to identify, just watch the plants. If on pear leaves:

• blurry spots appeared;
• and then turned dark;
• dots are visible on fruits or peduncles;
• dots then grow into spots.

Scab is determined by the combination of signs. Fighting the disease is quite difficult. Fallen leaves rot, but scab spores remain in the soil and can survive the winter. The following year, they will be blown onto the pear tree again.

When the first signs of fungus appear, immediately spray the plant with a copper-containing preparation.

Affected fruits can be eaten, but they will not be stored. In autumn, all leaves should be raked and burned, and the soil should be treated with a copper-containing preparation.

Copperberry

When a pear is affected by a sucker, the leaves first become covered with black spots at the sites of an insect bite. The spots soon cicatrize, but the tree is already affected: the leaves, trunk and twigs are covered with a sticky coating, a product of the excretion of the sucker. As the disease develops, a soot fungus grows on the sticky secretion, which passes to he althy parts of the plant. The tree is sick: the leaves dry and fall off, the bark stops letting air through, the fungus grows inside. After some time, if left untreated, the pear grows weak and dies.

At the first sign of illness required:

• spray the sucker tree with a suitable insecticide;
• remove and burn affected leaves.

In autumn, all garbage should be raked up and burned. Then treat the crown and the trunk circle with a copper-containing preparation. In the spring, repeat the treatment. In addition, it is recommended to do preventive spraying against pests.

Escape errors

Often leaves and shoots turn black and dry as a result of improper care. In this case, the cause of the disease should be identified and the errors corrected:

• Pear leaves wither, and then turn black and fall off during dry summers or significant dust emissions into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the gardener cannot fix the ecological situation.
• The whole top of a young pear has dried up, which means that the tree lacks calcium. It is recommended to urgently feed the tree with calcium nitrate (according to the application rate).
• The seedling has twisted and blackened shoots, it has stopped growing, which means that the pear has a lack of boron. In this case, it is enough to spray with a solution of boric acid. Subsequently, with planned top dressing, it is recommended to apply fertilizers with the required amount of trace elements.

It is important to remember: a he althy tree will not blacken and dry out foliage. And he alth can provide proper care: timely feeding, watering, spraying and pruning.

Pear leaf pests

Pests are often the cause of blackening of pear leaves. They parasitize the crown and cause its premature withering and drying.

Copperberry

The winged pest feeds on pear juice. As a result, the leaves turn black and fall off. The waste products of the suckers leave a sticky coating on the foliage and bark. This is a breeding ground for soot fungus. Traps hung in the crowns of pears will help reduce the pest population. To do this, fermented jam is diluted in a liter of water, poured into bottles with holes made. Traps are updated once a week.

Pear gall mite

The gall mite pierces the leaves with its proboscis and sucks out the juice. But it is extremely difficult to notice it: the insect is small and almost does not manifest itself. The gardener simply notices that the leaf has turned black and dried up. A leafless pear weakens and eventually dies.

Fighting a tick is quite difficult. At the first symptoms of a lesion, two insecticide sprays should be carried out with an interval of 14 days.

Aphid

It is unlikely that there will be a garden free from this pest. The aphid itself is not very active. But the products of its vital activity have a sweet taste and attract ants. It is the latter that settle aphids on a pear. The aphid sticks to the leaves, sucks out the juices and depletes them. Subsequently, the leaves turn black, then dry out and become unsuitable for photosynthesis. As a result, the tree weakens and drops the ovaries.

The danger of aphids lies in the fact that insects carry infectious and fungal diseases. Pest release does not guarantee that the pear is not infected with bacterial blight or scab. To combat aphids, it is recommended to get rid of anthills. In the first half of April, the garden should be treated with insecticides.Timely weeding of pear trunks and removal of weeds will help to reduce the aphid population. Spraying with tobacco infusion with the addition of green soap will help protect the crown.

Methods for the prevention and treatment of trees

In order to protect the pear from blackening of foliage, preventive measures should be taken:

1. Feeding in time: a he althy tree has strong immunity.
2. Choose cultivars and hybrids that are resistant to fire blight and scab for planting.
3. Drop the weeds in time.
4. Perform spring treatment against ants.
5. Hang sticky tapes among the trees. Inspect them daily and identify adhering pests. When a sucker, gall mite appears, immediately treat with insecticides.
6. Respect the distance when planting trees and shrubs in the garden.
7. Timely carry out sanitary and shaping pruning in the garden.
8. Perform spring and autumn preventive treatment with insecticides.
9. Remove and burn plant residues.
10. Involve beneficial insects (ladybugs, antlions) in the garden to control pests.

It is important to understand: it is easier to prevent the appearance of pests than to get rid of them later and treat the garden.

Folk remedies and recipes

There are folk methods for pest control:

• The old millet scattered near the anthill will make pests leave their homes.
• Spraying a solution of urea around the trunk circle in the fall will kill wintering pests.
• Sheltering the trunk circle with dark-colored lutrasil in the spring will prevent years of wintering copperheads.
• Good results are obtained by preventive fumigation with smoke during the opening of leaves in the spring.

To prevent the invasion of pests, calendula, delphinium, yarrow, tobacco should be planted in the garden.

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