Apple tree pests

In order for apple trees to please with bountiful harvests every year, you need to provide them with proper care. Pest control is a must. When planting apple trees, it is advisable to arrange them in such a way that the treatment against pests is easy. It is better not to plant vegetables and berry bushes next to apple trees, during processing, chemicals will get on them, as a result, the crop cannot be eaten. Apple tree pests can cause significant damage to the crop.

Apple tree pests: how to recognize and how to fight

Apple blossom beetle

Pest insects attacking apple trees are very voracious, so it is important to get rid of them in time. Pests can spoil the leaves of apple trees, eat fruits, spoil shoots and branches. Apple moths, sawflies, red fruit mites, leaf rollers, American white butterflies and other insects cause great harm to apple trees.

Apple blossom beetle

One of the most common pests is the apple blossom beetle. It is a small beetle belonging to the family of weevils. He eats the flower buds of apple trees before they have time to bloom. This small beetle is black-brown in color. He not only eats flower buds, but also lays eggs inside the buds.

The larvae of the apple blossom beetle eat the bud from the inside and glue it together with their secretions. Such a bud will no longer open and will not be pollinated, as a result of which it will not yield a crop. Apple blossom beetles are very dangerous pests. They do a lot of damage to the crop.

Without chemicals, the flower beetle cannot be defeated. In order to destroy adult beetles, apple trees are processed when the buds are just beginning to bloom. Unfortunately, poisons cannot destroy the larvae and eggs of flower beetles, so you will have to re-process them.

It usually takes place in July. This helps to reduce the number of beetles before they hide for the winter in the bark of apple trees or fallen leaves. An effective drug in the fight against bark beetle is Karbofos.

Apple tree pests - Californian scale insect

California scabbard

Another dangerous pest attacking apple trees is the California scale insect.

It harms not only apple trees, but also other fruit trees and shrubs. In some regions of Russia, it is a quarantine insect. An adult Californian scale insect outwardly resembles a small turtle hidden in a shell.

The larvae of the Californian scale insect hibernate in the bark of apple trees, hiding in its irregularities. In the spring, when sap flow begins, the larvae cut into the young apple bark and are covered with a protective shell. At the beginning of June, they already begin to give birth. Each female Californian scale insect brings about 150 larvae that can move around. The larvae crawl up the tree and begin to feed. At the end of August, the next generation of these pests is born.

In regions with a warm climate, the third generation of pests may be born by October. And in central Russia, over the summer, only two generations of the Californian scale insect are born.

If a scale insect is seen on the apple tree, then it is necessary to treat the infected trees with insecticides during the mass birth of these pests. This happens in June and August. The drugs that destroy scabbards well are Chlorpyrifos, Dimethoate, Tiacloprid.

To achieve a guaranteed result, a second one is carried out five days after the first treatment. If in April processing is carried out from a leafworm, the scabbard will also suffer, since its molt falls on this period.After that, the number of scale insects will noticeably decrease.

Aphids on an apple tree

Aphids are a common pest. This order of microscopic insects feeding on plant juices is very diverse. There are several thousand species of aphids. Many aphids are able to reproduce without fertilization. Aphid females are very fertile, in one week they are able to give birth to about a hundred larvae. Only before wintering and under unfavorable conditions, aphids begin to lay eggs.

Aphids have a soft body, their size is only a couple of millimeters. Aphids have a proboscis with which they feed. The color of aphids can be very different. Often its color is identical to the color of the plants it feeds on. There are wingless and winged aphids. Fighting winged aphids is very difficult. Aphids do not live alone, they form huge colonies.

Aphids on an apple tree

Incredible fertility, rapid spread and omnivorousness are the hallmarks of aphids. The warmer and rainy the summer, the more actively aphids reproduce. More than 20 generations of aphids can be born in one summer. If you do not get rid of these pests in time, apple trees can freeze out in winter.

Aphids can be defeated without the use of insecticides. Non-toxic agents in the fight against it have shown great efficiency. It is enough to cut off the branches on which the aphid colonies have settled. Feed the apple trees with organic fertilizers, for example, manure, not forgetting about feeding with microelements.

Balanced feeding alone will help prevent aphid breeding. But if this pest has appeared, then together with it you need to destroy the ants. If you do not destroy them, then the fight against aphids will be ineffective. Ants are poisoned under trees. They do well with ants Diazinon, Dimethoat.

To get rid of aphids, infusions of bitter pepper or tobacco are used. If the aphid colonies are huge, then synthetic poisons can be used.

Apple tree pests: fruit mite

Fruit mite

The fruit mite can cause blackening and dropping of leaves from the apple tree. This pest sucks juices from the leaves. The fruit mite is often found in the Kuban. It undermines the health of apple trees, because of which they may not survive the winter.

The red fruit mite is especially dangerous for apple trees. He lays his eggs in the cracks of the apple bark, where they spend the winter. In summer, female ticks are pink in color, in autumn they turn red. This mite, like others, can secrete a cobweb, with the help of which it pulls the edges of the leaves. The number of mites on each tree can be overwhelming.

Apple tree pests - brown fruit mite

Another type of mite is the brown fruit mite. He survives the winter in the form of eggs, which are located under the scales of the kidneys. The eggs are white in color. If there are a lot of them, then it seems that the branches are covered with some kind of dust. The ticks themselves are reddish in color. The body of the female is wider than that of the male. The larvae of the brown fruit mite are red-orange in color.

Brown fruit mite

In the spring, during bud break, the larvae of the fruit mite hatch from the eggs. Immediately after birth, the larvae crawl along the buds, and then along the leaves. During molting, they again return to the bark of apple trees, where they gather in large groups.

Brown fruit mites feed on juices from the leaves of apple trees. Damaged leaves lose their ability to photosynthesize. If there are many damaged leaves, then the apple tree weakens. An apple tree affected by a brown fruit mite gives a small harvest, and the fruits on it are small. Ticks are dangerous to apple trees all season.

The reason for the appearance of ticks can be the inept use of various drugs by the gardener, for example, organophosphates, which can destroy the natural enemies of ticks. Also, some drugs can stimulate the active reproduction of brown fruit mites.

In the fight against brown fruit mites, cleaning the trunks from old bark and whitewashing them with lime in the fall can help. Lime whitewashing is an effective way to control fruit mites.

Overwintered pests can be destroyed by spraying the trees with insecticides before budding. This will kill most of the pests, preventing them from multiplying quickly. If it was not possible to carry out processing before budding, then you can process the apple trees after flowering.

If the ticks managed to multiply and cause great damage to the leaves, then in the summer, in addition to treatments for other pests and diseases, apple trees should be treated against ticks. Ticks can develop drug resistance. Therefore, it is not worthwhile to carry out treatments with the same agent, it is necessary to alternate them.

Apple tree pests. Leaf roll

Leaf rollers can be very harmful to apple trees. They are rightfully considered extremely dangerous pests. There are several types of leaf rollers. Many of which are especially dangerous for apple trees. The caterpillars of the leafworm are very voracious, they eat not only the leaves, but also the buds, buds and flowers of apple trees.

Lithover

Leaf rollers survive the winter in the form of caterpillars or eggs. Caterpillars construct a cocoon for themselves. The eggs endure the winter on the branches of the apple tree. About three generations of leaf rollers can be born in one summer.

An adult leaf roll looks like a moth. Its size is about two centimeters. The leafworm has a small, thick body covered with hairs and brown wings. Adult leaf rollers are nocturnal.

The caterpillars of the leafworm reach a length of one to two centimeters. They are colored light yellow or green. The head of the caterpillars is brown or black. Caterpillars are very voracious and cause serious damage to apple trees.

You can fight the leaf roll with chemicals. Their use is justified if more than five caterpillars come across on one branch. Against the leaf roll, Inta-Vir, Calypso, Avant and other drugs help well.

To prevent the multiplication of leaf rollers, you need to inspect the apple trees for egg clutches in the early spring, before the buds bloom. They are usually located next to the kidneys.

Moths

Insects that feed on apples and their seeds are called moths. These pests are ubiquitous and cause great harm to the crop. Having multiplied strongly, they are able to destroy more than half of it.

Fruit moth on an apple tree

Most often you can find the apple moth. She survives the winter, hiding in cracks in the bark on the trunk of apple trees, in the form of larvae, as well as caterpillars. Caterpillars build a cocoon for wintering.

During the flowering of apple trees, butterflies are hatched. Each moth caterpillar spoils a large number of ovaries. The warmer the region, the more generations of the apple moth can hatch in one summer.

The adult moth is a rather large butterfly with gray wings. The first generation of butterflies emerges in the second decade of June. Summer lasts until July. As soon as the butterflies hatch, after two to three days they begin to lay eggs. Females of the moth are very fertile, one female can lay about a hundred eggs at a time.

Moth eggs are small, milky-green in color. The female lays one egg at a time on leaves, shoots and fruits. Very often, butterflies lay eggs in those places where the leaves come into contact with the fruit. The moth sticks these leaves to the fruit, protecting them. Even treatment with insecticides in this case is powerless.

Having hatched, the caterpillars penetrate the fruits through cracks and wounds on the peel, petiolar fossa. The places through which the caterpillars have penetrated begin to rot. If an apple infected by the moth falls to the ground, the caterpillar crawls out of it and crawls towards the trunk. Then he climbs along it to the crown and looks for a new fruit.

The second generation of butterflies flies out before the first generation ends. Therefore, in the garden you can find a moth at all stages of development. This is the main reason why moths are very difficult to control.

The average duration of caterpillar development in fruits can range from a couple of weeks to one and a half months. Weather and air temperature play an important role in the development of caterpillars. Then the caterpillars build cocoons and develop in them within two to three weeks.

Early varieties of apples are processed from the moth only twice a season. Autumn varieties need to be processed about four times. Winter apples are processed more, up to six times. Suitable for processing: Lufeneron, Tiacloprid, Deltamethrin. These drugs are the most harmless to humans and the most dangerous to moths.

Apple tree pests - American white butterfly

American white butterfly

The American white butterfly is a quarantine pest. It wreaks havoc on gardens. She spends winter in the form of a pupa, hiding in garbage heaps. From mid-May, butterflies begin to hatch from pupae.

Butterflies themselves are not dangerous for apple trees; their larvae pose a threat. Only after hatching from an egg, they feed on the leaves of apple trees. At the same time, enveloping them with a thin cobweb and building a nest for themselves. Inside it, they experience several molts. Then they get out of the nest and crawl along the branches of the apple tree, eating its leaves alone. In central Russia, two generations of these pests are hatched over the summer, three in the south.

The American white butterfly is native to North America. From there she came to Europe. Outwardly, it is a small, on average three to four cm, white butterfly, the body of which is covered with thick hairs. On its wings sometimes there are dots of black or brown color.

The caterpillars of the American white butterfly, after hatching from the egg, have a pale yellow color, then they become darker. Before pupating, they are brown in color.

As soon as the caterpillars emerge from the eggs, they begin to eat the leaves and build the nest. After the fifth molt, they leave the nest and crawl over the tree. The development period of the caterpillar depends on the temperature of the air and the plant that the caterpillar eats. If the temperature rises above 22 degrees, the caterpillar will develop faster.

In order to pupate, caterpillars find a dry, secluded place and hide there. Usually they climb under the bark of trees, in the ground or under fallen leaves. Butterflies emerge from most of the pupae after 20 days, and some pupae will spend a year in this state.

American white butterflies are nocturnal. They do not live long, males only four days, and females a little more than a week. But during their short life, female American white moths manage to lay more than a thousand eggs.

Apple moth

Another insect that poses a great danger to the apple tree is the apple moth. She experiences winter in the form of eggs. In the spring, before the apple trees begin to bloom, caterpillars hatch from the eggs.

Apple moth

Young caterpillars build spider nests, accumulating there in large numbers. During the summer, only one generation of apple moth is hatched. But if this pest multiplies strongly, it can cause great damage to apple trees.

Many gardeners confuse apple moth with a pest such as moth. But it is worth knowing that the moth does not settle on apple trees. This pest prefers berry bushes. If the tips of the apple branches are shrouded in a thin, delicate cobweb, this indicates that an apple moth or another type of moth has appeared.

There are agrotechnical, mechanical and chemical methods to combat apple moths. The chemical method of control consists in treating apple trees with special preparations. Suitable for the fight against apple moth: Inta-Vir, Iskra-Bio, Dimilin and other drugs.

They need to process the crowns of apple trees in accordance with the instructions on the package. The processing of apple trees begins as soon as their flowering ends.

The mechanical method of struggle consists in finding and removing leaves with apple moth nests. This method is relevant for small gardens. The collected nests are burned.

An agrotechnical way to combat apple moth is to breed predatory insects in an apple orchard. Thanks to them, it will be possible to avoid the need for chemical treatment.

Apple tree pests: mice

For young apple trees, mice are a great danger. Such trees still have young, thin and tasty bark. Mice love to feast on it, they also gnaw on young branches. You can protect apple trees from mice by making their bark inedible.

Mice on an apple tree

For this, special protective windings are made. The wrapping can be made from a regular polypropylene mesh bag using scotch tape. About a meter, the trunk and young branches of apple trees are wrapped with rags or bags in two layers. Some gardeners use old nylon women's tights to protect apple trees.

Instead of rags, you can use Agrofibre. It has many advantages over rags and is inexpensive. Even if it breaks, it will still provide reliable protection. It is more durable than rags and can last more than one season.

You can protect apple trees from mice using ordinary plastic bottles. To do this, you need to cut off the neck and bottom of the bottles. And with the rest, wrap the trunks of the apple trees and secure it with wire or tape. Previously, the trunk of the apple tree is wrapped in white paper and only then the bottles are put on.

Apple tree pests - Bronzovka beetle

Bronzovka beetle

You can often see beautiful bugs with shiny green wings on the apple tree. This outwardly cute insect is also a pest - a bronze beetle. The adult beetle itself is not dangerous; its larvae are dangerous. They look like beetle larvae, just as large, thick and white. Bronze beetle larvae live in the ground, they can harm the roots of apple trees by eating them.

Only insecticides can help defeat this pest. Among soil poisons, the drug "Aktara" is relatively safe.

Apple tree pests. Whitefly butterflies

More than half of the leaves of an apple tree are capable of destroying whitefly butterflies. This is very dangerous for trees, it not only reduces their yield, but also greatly weakens them. These apple trees may not survive the winter. Whiteflies are becoming a big nuisance for many summer residents and gardeners.

Whitefly butterflies

As soon as this pest is noticed, you need to start eliminating it. It is advisable to process the apple tree as soon as the cobweb appears on the leaves. You can also carry out preventive treatment in the spring before the leaves appear on the apple tree. While the trees are still bare, they are coated with a soap-oil solution.

Bark beetles

The danger to apple trees is represented by bark beetles. The sooner you start fighting them, the more likely you will be able to save the trees. If the bark beetle moves are seen on the tree, you need to inject a solution of Chlorosporus, Metasphor or another drug into them with a syringe. After that, you need to close up the passages with something outside. Clay or wax works well for this.

If the bark beetles have already done great harm to the apple trees, then all that remains is to cut them down and burn them.

How to treat an apple tree from pests

In order for the apple trees to be healthy and enjoy a bountiful harvest, it is important to prevent viruses, diseases and insect pests from spreading.

In order to get rid of pests that damage apple trees, there is a whole range of measures. Pests are fought with agrotechnical and mechanical methods, as well as with the help of poisonous mixtures. Insecticides can only be purchased from specialized stores.

It is necessary to use poison, strictly observing its dosage and following the instructions for use. If there is not enough information about the drug in the instructions, you can find it on the Internet. If there are not many pests, you can first try to deal with them using folk methods. And only if this does not work, switch to chemical methods of struggle.

Weeds are removed between the rows of apple trees. To get rid of insect pests, trapping belts and traps are hung on the trees, and mulch is laid on the soil around them. All pest-infested branches and leaves are cut and burned without delay.

Pest control begins after the apple trees have faded. Apple trees are treated twice a season for ticks. If an apple sawfly appears, then the trunks and branches must be treated with preparations that include chlorophos.

For scab, apple trees are treated with a Bordeaux mixture three times with intervals of three weeks between them. Regularly you need to inspect apple trees for the appearance of a white web. This is the first sign of caterpillar infestation. If aphid colonies appear on the branches, then they need to be broken off and burned.

The time when apple pest control is carried out

In the spring, apple trees are treated from the beginning of sap flow. The first treatment is done with dormant kidneys. In this case, the air temperature should be at least 5 degrees. Then treatment is carried out during the period of swelling of the buds and treatment just before flowering, in the so-called period of pink bud.

In summer, apple trees are sprayed when ovaries the size of a nut are formed on them until the time when the apples begin to color. By the time the crop ripens, it is undesirable to carry out processing.

In autumn, processing is carried out after harvest and before frost. Autumn processing will help get rid of pests hibernating in the soil and bark. After the leaves have fallen, processing can still be carried out. It is very important to remove and burn all fallen leaves in the fall. The earth around the trunks of apple trees is dug up to destroy pests that winter in the soil.

Also in the fall, sanitary pruning is carried out, the trunks of apple trees are whitewashed. All treatments should be done when there is no rain.