The insidious disease that affects pears – rust – is a fungal disease and causes serious damage to fruit trees, not just pears.
In just one season, the insidious disease can leave a gardener without a harvest - at best. Sometimes you have to get rid of the tree.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh, an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti" - a scientist, agronomist, landscape designer, told whether it is possible to cure pears from rust.
The best treatment is prevention. Any doctor and experienced gardener will confirm this.
Signs of infection
The disease manifests itself in summer. The symptom is brown spots on leaves and shoots.
Soon, growths containing fungal spores appear on the back of the leaves.
Affected leaves dry out and fall off, and the tree weakens.
On a sick tree, the disease may appear the following spring before flowering begins. If the tree is not treated, it may die within a few years.
How to fight
Firstly, juniper, which is considered a carrier of fungal spores, should not be planted next to pear trees.
Secondly, it is necessary to prune the affected shoots and branches in time, treat the wounds with a solution of copper sulfate, which will prevent the spread of the disease.
Thirdly, in early spring and during the season, treat pears with fungicides - Bordeaux mixture or Skor. Infusions of ash, mullein or marigolds help in the early stages.
Fourthly, plant rust-resistant varieties – Gordzala, Sakharnaya, Chizhovka and others.
Fifthly, after the autumn leaves fall, treat the trees with urea, and in the spring with biological preparations.
Conduct regular preventive examinations and use a comprehensive approach to combat fungus.
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
