Plum diseases: photos and how to treat them

If plum leaves curl, rot or a coating of unknown color appears on them - this is the first signal to the gardener that he needs to immediately take measures to treat the tree.Such signs indicate serious diseases that can not only destroy the entire crop, but also lead to the death of the tree itself.

However, no disease affects the entire plant at once, so timely treatment can prevent its death and stop the development of the disease.

How to identify plum disease

The first sign of deviation from the normal state of a plum is considered to be gum production. This in itself is not a disease, but it indicates the presence of certain problems. The flow of gum, which many call resin, occurs in places where the bark of the plum tree is damaged, as well as when the soil is waterlogged or when fertilizer is applied in excess.

The second sign of the disease is the appearance of plaque of different colors on the leaves (brown, gray, red), as well as modification of the leaves themselves. They begin to curl, turn yellow and fall off prematurely.

Plum fruits may also indicate the disease. If they crumble prematurely, change, become covered with plaque or rot, these are also signs of disease.

Why do plum leaves turn yellow?

There may be several reasons for this. Here are some of them:

1. Wrong choice of landing site. Plum leaves turn yellow in the spring if the groundwater is quite high or the planting site is subject to regular flooding. Excess moisture can lead to such consequences. In summer, plum leaves turn yellow due to insufficient sunlight if the plant is planted in strong shade.
2. Lack of moisture. In dry times, the plant itself sheds part of the crown to reduce the evaporation of water from the surface of the leaves.
3. Root damage. If the plum root system is damaged by frost or rodents, it does not provide adequate nutrition to the leaves.
4. Lack of microelements in the soil. In this case, the process of photosynthesis in the leaves does not proceed properly, and the plum leaf blade may turn yellow, red or white.
5. Diseases. Fungal diseases that affect plums appear as spots of different colors on the leaf. The affected leaf gradually turns brown and falls off.
6. Pests. Some insect pests feed on the juices of the leaves, which leads to their gradual yellowing and drying.

Often the cause of yellowing plum leaves is several factors. In this case, the disease develops more rapidly, and measures to save the tree must be taken immediately.

Why are there no leaves on the plum tree?

The reason for the lack of leaves on a plum tree is most often the freezing of the tree. Plums often freeze in severe frosts. In this case, the lower part of the trunk, which overwinters under the snow, as a rule, remains intact. You can often observe how young shoots appear in the lower part of the trunk of a leafless tree in the summer. This indicates that the plum root is intact.

If young shoots appear on the trunk above the grafting site, then it is quite possible to revive a dried plum.

Why did the plum dry up?

The reasons why plums dry out can be infectious and non-infectious factors. The former include fungal, viral and bacterial diseases, the latter – various water balance disorders, lack of nutrition or mechanical stress. This also includes damage to plum trees by various pests and low temperatures in winter.

If a plum tree has bloomed and dried out, the reason is most likely complex.The rapid course of the disease always indicates that there are several factors.

White plaque on plum

A whitish coating on the leaves of a plum tree is a sign of the appearance of a milky sheen. This is a fungal infection whose pathogens live in cracks in the bark. The disease can appear after the plant freezes in winter, as well as in spring and autumn under conditions of high air humidity.

A milky sheen may appear on grafted plums due to poor fusion of the rootstock and scion, as well as due to mechanical damage to the plum.

Holes on plum leaves

The appearance of numerous holes on the leaf blades of a plum is a sign of infection with cleasterosporiasis, or hole spot. Numerous holes on plum leaves are already the second stage of the lesion; in the first stage, the leaves are covered with small black round spots. After 10–12 days, the leaf in place of the spots is completely destroyed and characteristic small holes are formed.

Over time, the disease progresses, moving to fruits and shoots.

Plum leaves are falling

Premature falling of leaves on a plum tree indicates a severe degree of damage to the tree by some disease. The leaves do not fall green; first they curl and turn yellow. It is at this stage that you need to recognize the disease or cause and begin treating the plum as soon as possible.

Why do plum leaves curl?

The most common reason why plum leaves curl is damage by insect pests, namely aphids. This can be easily checked by unrolling the curled sheet. Surely there will be a whole cluster of these microscopic insects inside. Each of them feeds on tree sap, piercing the leaf blade and sucking it out of the leaf tissue.

The aphid colony multiplies rapidly, increasing exponentially. If urgent measures are not taken, soon the entire tree will simply be left without leaves and, accordingly, without fruits.

In addition to aphids, the reasons for curling plum leaves can be:

1. Chlorosis.
2. Verticillium.
3. Freezing.
4. Root diseases.

In addition to the above, the reasons may be: lack of microelements in the soil, excess nitrogen.

Why do plums rot on the tree?

Rot is a fungal disease inherent not only to plums, but also to other fruit trees. Plums rot on the tree due to dense plantings, a humid climate and violation of agricultural practices.

There are two types of rot: fruit rot and gray rot. Both of them are dangerous. If the affected fruits are not removed from the tree in time, they become constant sources of infection. Gradually, the fungal spores will be spread by water and wind to other plums, as a result, the harvest may be almost completely lost.

Why do the branches of the plum tree turn black?

Blackened plum shoots indicate that the tree has been infected with moniliosis. The previously mentioned fruit rot is also a variety of it. Another variety, monilial burn, affects branches and leaves. The infection enters the plant tissue through the flower pistils.

As the disease spreads, it causes the shoots and leaves to die, which turn black and look charred.

Plum diseases: description and treatment

All diseases from which plums in the garden suffer or die can be divided into three groups: infectious, fungal and bacterial. Most of them affect not only plums, but also other fruit trees, so prevention methods and methods of treating infected trees are largely universal.

Treatment of gum disease in plums

Cracks in the bark of a plum tree through which gum flows are an open gate for the penetration of fungi and infections. In addition, constant gum production quite weakens and depletes the tree. Use a sharp knife to remove gum. They cut off the resin on the plum, capturing 5 mm of healthy tissue. After this, the cut is disinfected with a 1% solution of copper sulfate and covered with a mixture of mullein and clay (1:1).

Plum leaf curl

Curl is a fungal disease of plums. Manifests itself in the characteristic curling of leaves. The leaves, and then the shoots of the plum, become deformed. The affected leaves subsequently fall off, the fruits on the affected shoots do not set, and those that are set become severely deformed and become inedible.

To treat plum leaf curl, trees are sprayed prophylactically with Bordeaux mixture, as well as Skor or Abiga-Pik before and after flowering with an interval of 2 weeks. Deformed plum leaves and shoots must be destroyed.

How to treat holey spotting of plum

Clusterosporiasis is a fungal disease. To prevent its occurrence, you should avoid thickening the crown and perform sanitary pruning of the tree in a timely manner. Plums are sprayed against fungus with Bordeaux mixture, as well as with Abiga-Pik, Horus, Granuflo or Plantenol. Treatment is carried out once, usually before buds open.

Plum bushiness or sprouting

Often this fungal disease is also called “witches broom”.On the affected tree, thin short shoots begin to grow in bunches, which never produce fruit. The tree itself stops bearing fruit.

Witches' brooms should be cut down and burned. Prevention is to spray plum trees with Bordeaux mixture in early spring.

Treatment of plum moniliosis

To prevent moniliosis in plums, trees are treated with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture twice a season: in the spring, before buds begin to open, and in the fall, after the leaves fall. Instead of Bordeaux mixture, you can use the drug Hom or a solution of copper oxychloride. Infected fruits must be removed and destroyed, and affected plum shoots must be cut out and burned.

Verticillium

Verticillium wilt, or wilt, is a disease caused by soil fungi. The affected tree begins to dry out from the bottom, gradually causing the entire tree to wither up to the top. Sometimes the fungus affects only part of the tree, leaving the other part untouched.

Treatment of wilt consists of repeated (4-5 times) treatment of the tree with fungicides or a solution of preparations containing copper. It is also necessary to take a number of preventive measures to prevent and prevent the spread of the fungus. It has been noted that verticillium does not appear on sandy soils with a neutral reaction. Since the causative fungus lives in the soil, you need to pay special attention to the condition of the tree trunk circles and keep them clean.

Dwarfism

This is a viral disease that affects not only plums, but also other stone fruit trees. Usually it can be noticed only at the last stage, when the tree sharply reduces flowering and fruiting, the leaves become thinner, become fragile and fly off prematurely. The tree's growth stops.There is no cure for the disease, and it will no longer be possible to save the drying plum. The affected tree is uprooted and burned.

This disease is transmitted through dirty tree pruning tools and parasitic insects. Infected seedlings can also be sources of infection. Therefore, special attention should be paid to high-quality seed material, and garden tools should be regularly treated and disinfected.

Treatment of plum chlorosis

Chlorosis is not an independent disease; it has no pathogens. Chlorosis is a consequence of a lack of iron in the soil. If a plant does not receive enough of this microelement for a long time, its leaves lose their green color, become yellow or white, and then turn brown and fall off. To combat chlorosis, plants are sprayed with preparations containing iron: Agricola, Antichlorosis, Ferrylene.

You can also prepare an aqueous solution based on iron sulfate yourself. Its concentration is made 0.5% and trees are sprayed with this solution.

Plum coccomycosis: cause and treatment

At the beginning of summer, a whitish coating may appear on the reverse side of the plum leaves, and small reddish spots may appear on the upper plate. These are signs of coccomycosis, a fungal disease that mainly affects plum leaves. Most often, the disease manifests itself in warm, humid weather. To prevent its occurrence, trees are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.

It is also important not to allow the branches to become dense so that the air exchange inside the crown does not deteriorate. Affected plum leaves and shoots should be torn off and burned.The same should be done with fallen leaves in which fungal spores overwinter.

Plum polypore

This is a fungus that settles in cracks in the bark of a tree and destroys the wood. At the site of the lesion, fungal fruiting bodies gradually form, which look like growths on the trunk of a plum tree. You can protect the tree from the appearance of tinder fungus using a solution of copper sulfate, which must be used to disinfect all damage to the plum bark.

The fruiting bodies of the tinder fungus also need to be cut off, and the cut areas should be treated with copper sulfate and sealed with cement mortar.

How to treat rust on a plum

Often in mid-summer, reddish-brown spots begin to appear on plum leaves, resembling rust stains in color. The disease affects tree leaves that fall prematurely. The winter hardiness of the plant also decreases.

To prevent the appearance of rust, trees are sprayed with copper oxychloride before and after flowering, and after harvesting - with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture.

Red spot of plum

Otherwise, this fungal disease is called polystigmosis. Leaves affected by the disease become covered with red-orange spots that become convex. An infected plum does not accumulate a sufficient amount of plastic substances during the season, which greatly reduces the number of plum flowers and ovaries for the next year.

To combat red spot, preventive spraying of plums is carried out in early spring, before buds open, and in autumn, after leaf fall. A 3–4% solution of Bordeaux mixture is used as the active substance.If the prognosis is unfavorable, the treatment is repeated twice more, after flowering and after another two weeks.

Plum pockets

A disease caused by a fungus that affects only fruits. Affected plums look swollen and their ripening stops. A white coating appears on the surface. Then the fruit becomes moldy and falls off, but sometimes it becomes mummified and remains hanging on the branch, remaining a source of infection.

If the disease is not treated, up to 70% of the plum harvest can be lost. For prevention, trees are sprayed in early spring with a 4% solution of Bordeaux mixture, repeating the treatment before and after flowering. You can also use fungicidal preparations Horus or Switch.

Treatment of nectria on plum

Nectria necrosis is a serious fungal disease that causes branch dieback. It can be easily recognized by the characteristic red pads on the tree bark. Fungal spores are usually carried by rainwater or insects, causing new outbreaks of infection.

The fungus penetrates deeply into the wood, so affected branches only need to be cut off and burned. For prevention, trees are treated with copper-containing preparations in the spring.

Scab on plum bark

Scab is a dangerous infectious disease that affects all parts of the tree. Scab on plum fruits can be recognized by characteristic olive-colored spots covered with a velvety coating. Sometimes the lesion looks like a black spot outlined by a light rim. When scab appears on the bark of a tree, it cracks, swells and bursts, which leads to the death of the shoot.

The development of the disease is promoted by high humidity and dense plantings. Trees should be regularly inspected and affected fruits removed.For prevention, plants are treated three times per season (in early spring, after flowering and two weeks later) with Tsemeba, Cuprozone or Bordeaux mixture 1%.

Black cancer on plum: symptoms and treatment

This disease on plums is quite rare. The fungus that causes the disease gets into cracks in the bark, where it develops. In this place the shoot swells, the bark bursts, and the wood in this place turns black. When black cancer infects the trunk or skeletal branches, the tree usually dies.

If infected branches are found, they must be cut off and destroyed. The bark and part of the affected wood are cleared from the trunk at the site of the lesion to healthy layers. The cut area is disinfected with copper sulfate, and then painted over with oil paint on natural drying oil or covered with garden pitch. For prevention, trees are sprayed with the same preparations used for scab.

How to treat gray rot on plums

Gray rot is a very common fungal disease of plums. Sudden temperature changes contribute to its development.

Affected shoots must be cut out and burned, and the tree must be treated with Hom or copper oxychloride before and after flowering.

Plum pox (sharqa)

This dangerous viral disease can completely destroy the plum crop, and then the tree itself. Smallpox usually appears first on the leaves, on which chlorotic spots appear, clearly visible in the light. Then the fruits are affected, on which black spots, rings and stripes appear.

Smallpox is transmitted through planting material, through grafting or through a seed. There is no cure for it, only uprooting and complete destruction. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing the entire garden.

The virus is also transmitted by aphids.Therefore, it is important to prevent the appearance of these insects on plums by carrying out preventive measures in a timely manner.

Sooty mushroom

Sooty fungus is also associated with aphids. The secretions of these insects are the nutrient medium on which the fungus settles. It can be detected by a black spot on the leaves that resembles fine coal dust. As the fungus develops, it clogs the pores of the leaf, which leads to its death.

You can prevent the development of fungus by systematically fighting aphids. When these insects appear, the plants are treated with Horus, Strobi, Fury and others.

Lichen on a plum tree trunk

Lichen can also do a lot of damage to plums, so you need to get rid of it. This is usually done in early spring, before the buds open. At this time, parts of the plum tree affected by lichen are treated with 5% iron sulfate. After a week, the moss and lichen will fall off the tree on their own, but the remains can simply be wiped off with a piece of coarse cloth.

Plum pests and their control + photo

Among the insects there are many pests that want to feast on both the fruits and other parts of the plum tree. Some of them are quite dangerous and can seriously complicate the life of a gardener.

Plum moth

The grayish-brown small butterfly is one of the main pests of plum trees. The butterfly itself does not feed on the fruits; the fruits are damaged by its caterpillar. One butterfly can lay up to 40 eggs in different plums. After hatching, the caterpillars continue to feed on the fruit pulp for about a month, literally eating the fruit from the inside, after which they descend into the tree trunk circles to hibernate.

Codling moth butterflies are controlled by spraying with biological compounds (Fito-Verm, Iskra Bio), chemicals (Fufanon, Decis, Karbofos), as well as various pheromone traps. Spraying against the pest with infusions of tansy, chamomile, and even wood ash is also practiced.

Plum pipe gun

In another way, this weevil-like insect is also called the plum elephant. This is also a dangerous pest.

The female tube roller lays eggs directly on the leaf plate, partially cutting it, and the hatched larvae roll it into a tube.

Over time, damaged plum leaves dry out and fall off. To combat this pest, trees are sprayed with Actellik, Metafos, Karbofos and others. The first treatment should be done before flowering begins.

Gall mite

The insect pest is a microscopic mite that damages the shoots of the first year of life by sucking the juice from them. In places of sucking, red tubercles are formed - galls, in which female mites are located. Lack of nutrients leads to drying out of the affected shoots.

Plum leaves and shoots containing galls must be torn off and burned. Immediately after flowering, plants should be sprayed against the pest with karbofos or a colloidal sulfur solution of 1%. Repeat spraying after 2 weeks.

Ants on plums: damage caused and how to get rid of them

Again, aphids are to blame for the appearance of ants on plums. It is the secretions of this pest (honeydew) that are a delicacy for ants. Therefore, the latter use it as a kind of cash cow, protecting the aphids in every possible way and transferring them from place to place, in fact organizing peculiar farms.If you find eaten green buds on a plum, the cause may also be ants. Colonies of insects living in the ground can severely damage plum roots.

To block ants' access to the tree trunk, various mechanical barriers are used, for example, grooves with water. They are often made from old car tires by cutting them lengthwise and filling them with water. Various hunting belts coated with glue are attached to the tree trunk. Sometimes plum trunks are coated with tar.

If ants have already appeared on the tree, spraying the plum with a solution of laundry soap mixed with kerosene and carbolic acid (400 g, 10 and 2 tablespoons per bucket of water, respectively) can help. Treating trees with wormwood infusion also helps get rid of ants on plums.

Aphids appeared on a plum tree: what to do?

Aphids are a very dangerous pest that can cause serious damage to the garden, affecting not only plum trees, but also other fruit trees. Aphid colonies feed on cell sap, causing the leaves on the plum to curl, turn yellow and die. In addition, aphids secrete a waste product - honeydew, which forms a sticky coating on plum leaves, clogging the pores and attracting ants.

It is difficult to get rid of it completely, but reducing the pest population to an insignificant level is quite possible. The key to successful aphid control is cleanliness. There should be no dry or diseased branches on the tree, and the trunk circle should be clean.

Chemical and bacteriological agents are widely used to control aphids. These are the insecticides Fury, Karbofos, Confidor. Biological products that are harmless to the environment include Fitoverm.

Aphids are able to adapt to the chemicals used.Each repeated use of the same drug against this pest reduces the effectiveness of its use significantly. Therefore, it is important to constantly alternate them.

Plum sawfly

The plum sawfly is a hymenopteran insect pest. The danger lies primarily in its larvae, which develop inside the fruit. If measures are not taken, up to 80% of the harvest can be lost.

Various measures are used to control these insect pests. Digging up plum circles near the trunks in the pre-winter period gives a good effect. Before flowering begins, the tree can be periodically shaken off onto a pre-spread oilcloth, and then the resulting “harvest” can be destroyed. An effective remedy is the treatment of tree trunk circles with an infusion of wood ash.

There are many other methods of combating plum sawfly. This is spraying with various chemicals and folk remedies. The most commonly used drugs are Karbofos and Metafos. Among folk remedies, infusions of chamomile, wormwood and burdock are widely used.

Leaf roller butterfly

Leaf roller caterpillars can cause significant damage to crops. They eat leaves, twist them into tubes using webs, and also spoil the fruits.

They fight leaf rollers by spraying with Decis or Karbofos. Tubes with pest caterpillars hanging on cobwebs are collected and destroyed.

hawthorn

Caterpillars of the hawthorn butterfly feed on young green leaves and plum buds, causing significant damage to the tree. A large population of pest caterpillars can completely destroy all the greenery of a tree.

Pest control begins in early spring. At this time, you need to inspect the trees, remove and destroy all spider nests in which the larvae overwinter.At the beginning of spring, the plum is sprayed with a solution of urea and copper sulfate. During mass flights of butterflies, they are destroyed manually in the morning hours, while they are inactive.

Insecticides are also widely used to combat hawthorn: Accord, Inta-Vir, Fury. You can also use biological agents: Bitoxibacillin or Actofir.

How to deal with scale insects on plums

Scale insects are insect pests that suck sap from plants, including plums. It is quite difficult to detect them visually, especially while they are small. They often visually appear as small tubercles or small bumps on the trunk of a plum tree.

In addition to the fact that scale insects suck the juice from plums, they also, like aphids, secrete honeydew - a decomposition product that is a breeding ground for the development of fungi.

It is difficult to get rid of scale insects without insecticides. The most effective drugs against this pest are Aktara, Confidor, Actellik and some others. They spray the plants after the buds appear.

How to treat plums against flies

Plum (cherry) flies appear on plums quite often. The larvae of this pest, developing inside the fruit, can destroy a significant part of the crop.

To combat flies, spraying with insecticides is used: Iskra, Fufanon, Karate. Treatment should be done at least twice with an interval of 2-3 weeks. The drugs must be alternated, since the fly quickly adapts.

Prevention measures

The most effective measure to prevent diseases and pests on the drain is to maintain cleanliness. Regular sanitary pruning of plums, keeping the tree trunk clean, timely watering, fertilizing and other agricultural work significantly reduce the likelihood of diseases and pests. The same applies to garden tools. All knives, pruners, and loppers must be disinfected regularly.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why plum leaves curl or unripe fruits fall off. And this is not always associated with a plum disease or pest invasion. Therefore, you need to constantly keep the situation under control, monitor the condition of the trees, and carry out all the necessary work to care for the garden. Then the plums will not remain in debt and will generously reward you with an excellent harvest.

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