How to treat apple bark

It happens that the apple tree loses its attractive appearance, cracks and spots form, foliage falls off early, fertility becomes very small. Such significant changes can be a consequence of diseases of the tree bark, because the bark of the apple tree is in fact the most vulnerable place. First you need to determine why the disease arose, and take measures to treat the apple tree.

About diseases of the cortex

The bark is the outer shell of a tree. The state of health of the apple tree depends on how complete the bark is. If the bark is slightly damaged, then you need to quickly take some action. On an apple tree, which has cracks and spots, it becomes an open focus for the introduction of a variety of fungi and harmful microorganisms. The bark of a tree must be treated promptly and at any time of the year.

The apple tree has varying degrees of damage.

Non-infectious.

If you instantly react to damage of a mechanical nature, then you can avoid getting into the wounds of pathogenic flora.

Damage can occur for the following reasons:

1. Pruning;
2. Vaccination;
3. Sunburn;
4. Freezing;
5. Windy weather conditions;
6. Aggressive impact of pests;
7. Birds and rodent mutilation;
8. Excessive number of apples on the tree;
9. Low and excessive humidity;
10. An excess or lack of nutrients.

Attention: At the beginning, when wounds are found on the bark, you need to determine their nature.

The deformed bark differs from mechanical damage in external signs. It is very easy to distinguish healthy branches from those that have suffered from strong winds or a large number of fruits. If the wood cuts are processed correctly, then no additional interventions will be required. If the bark falls off the apple tree in pieces, then this is a sign that the tree is suffering from temperature changes or sunburn. Wounds are recognized by color. The tree is painted pink, as if scalded with boiling water. In the autumn you need trunk treat with clay or garden whitewash so that in the summer the sun's rays do not damage the tree.

If the bark is frayed and falling off, then most likely it was damaged by rodents. Small through holes are the first sign that pests have damaged the apple tree.

The most common insects include:

1. Corrosive arboreal;
2. Eastern moth;
3. Apple tree glass;
4. Fragrant woodworm.

If you dig such a hole, you can see an expansion inside the tree, quite wide and deep. Without noticing the pests, you can bring the apple tree to the point that hollows appear in the trunks.

If in the spring the bark peels off and bursts on the tree, you do not need to immediately resort to significant measures. In an adult plant, the bark can be periodically renewed, a new one forms under the old bark.

With oblique cracks on the trunks and skeletal branches, you can understand that the tree is subject to uneven growth of different layers of the apple tree. A strong apple tree will be able to stabilize itself and continue to grow at a normal pace.

Eight-year-old trees need furrowing to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases. The obsolete bark must be cut along the trunk and large branches with a distance of 15 cm. The incisions are treated with garden pitch or Rannet paste. In the autumn, the plant needs to be fertilized so that the bark is better formed. Better to buy potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

How to restore bark on a tree

To restore the strength of the bark, you need to cleanse dead tissue.Thoroughly clean the recessed cavities that have formed pests. The further the cavity deepens, the more remnants of insect life remain there.

An open section must be treated with a preparation containing copper, usually a 1% solution of copper sulfate is used. The damaged areas of the bark are whitewashed with garden whitewash. You can put putty instead of whitewashing. You can make a mixture of mullein and clay by mixing them in equal proportions. You can take one clay by soaking and kneading it.

Attention: On young apple trees, you can replace the whitewash with clay. The whitewash for the garden contains lime, which slows down the growth of young trees. If the plant is damaged, then all the consequences must be eliminated in time.

Infectious degree of damage

First, you need to determine why an infectious disease occurred. The main cause is considered to be the spread of fungus or pathogenic bacteria.

Black cancer. A very dangerous fungal disease. The infection is very difficult to fight and it spreads to other apple trees at a rapid pace. In a couple of seasons, you can lose your entire garden. At the beginning, you will notice small cracks that surround small specks. The wounds are first of a purple hue, and then they become black in color. The branches appear to be burnt outwardly. The foliage and buds of flowers are black at the edge, dry and curl up. If black circles appear around the trunk, then the plant can no longer be saved.

Important: If the apple tree is not helped in any way, then the plant dries up in 3 years. Also, the infection can migrate to other trees.

Cytosporosis. A disease occurs due to an infectious fungus. The infection seeps into the wounds in the cortex. It is developing rapidly. In one season, the branches dry out. Cracks appear at the transitions between the affected and healthy areas. Bumps appear at the site of damage. The fungal infection spreads in breadth and depth, reaching the wood and cambium. Foliage, ovaries and flowers dry up. At the last stage of the lesion, the gum becomes a bright crimson hue. If the branches are severely affected, then they just need to be removed. If the trunk or fork of the skeletal branches is severely affected, then to save the apple tree, you need to destroy the diseased crown and re-graft the plant.

Bacterial cancer. Infectious bacteria develop in the soil under the crown of the apple tree. The bark is difficult to cure from the disease. Cancer disrupts the vital activity of the plant, rendering it completely out of order. The disease manifests itself in the spring, at the moment when the buds on the tree die off, clinging to the nearby bark. The foliage becomes black, the flowers are actively withering. Young shoots are brown. They also dry actively. Light or dark spots appear on the wood. They swell, blisters appear. The inner content of the apple tree becomes soft, if you try to tear off the bark, then the tree will smell like rot. A crust forms on the growths, after a year it cracks and the affected area becomes an open wound.

European cancer. Fungal disease provokes the development of cancers. The branches dry up, break in a place where there is a large content of fungal cells. The tree is rotting inside from cancer. The disease develops slowly. In the affected area, nodules and growths are formed. Fungal cells are actively dividing, after frost, growths die, exposing wood and cambium. Thus, cavities and hollows appear on the branches and trunk. It happens that influxes survive the winter period and gradually thicken.

How to cure a plant

To begin with, small and large lesions are cleaned by cutting off the affected areas along with healthy parts of the tree. Captured about 5 cm. The cleaned place must be wiped with an antiseptic. As an anesthetic, you can take a solution of 2% copper sulfate and a solution of 5% iron sulfate. You can, in order not to complicate, treat the ulcers with brilliant green or sorrel leaves. The diseased bark is removed.After processing, the apple bark is isolated from contact with air and moisture. Experienced summer residents use different means: the protective layer is made from garden varnish, oil paint and drying oil. You can often find the use of clay or ordinary soil for the garden, which is moisturized with special agents against fungus. You can make your own mullein and clay putty by mixing the ingredients in equal proportions. You can also mix wood ash, rosin and wax in equal amounts.

Fungicidal microbiological pastes are considered effective, for example, Fitosporin, which protects the wound and the fungus does not develop after treatment.

You can make crustal patches from a similar variety of apple trees. They are laid on the damaged areas neatly.

Important: Sick foliage, branches, branches must be burned!

After the affected areas have been processed, it is necessary to destroy the fungal spores in the soil, crown and in the nearest near-stem area. It is necessary to spray with fungicidal preparations such as Hom, Bordeaux solution, Horus and others.

With manifestations of black cancer, at the initial stage, the bark is washed with a solution of potassium permanganate. In this case, there is no need to clean the wounds. If the cancer has significantly affected the plant, then the tall adult trees need to be uprooted, as the treatment will be ineffective. Young plants have a chance of salvation if the trunk is not ringed.

When treating Cytosporosis, it is necessary to block the infection from the possibility of movement to the wood. The effectiveness of treatment is completely dependent on the stage of development of the disease. Affected areas with a diameter of no more than 15 cm can be treated. For large wounds, treatment will not help. To prevent the disease from infecting trees, you need to spray the fruit trees with preparations containing copper 3 times. Hom is often used. Spraying is carried out before the start of active growth, before the beginning of flowering and at its end.

Spraying the garden from fungi and infection is mandatory. To cure bacterial diseases, antibiotics are used: Tetracycline or Streptomycin. Usually, injections of the trunk, spraying of the crown, and washing of wounds are carried out.

Conclusion

To keep the trees always healthy, it is necessary to carry out preventive treatments against diseases.

Every gardener needs:

1. Gently prune and graft the plant;
2. Carry out prevention with clean tools;
3. Carry out timely processing of slices;
4. Whitewash the apple trees before the winter period, you can process the trunks with clay;
5. Put a rodent net;
6. Fight pests;
7. Plant trees at a distance;
8. Feed the plants correctly;
9. Before buying seedlings, check them for infectious diseases.

If you follow all the rules, then every single seedling will be healthy and will bring a big harvest.