Even with the best care and optimal location, apricots can become ill. They often also suffer from pest infestation. Natural remedies can support healing. We will help you find the right answers and treatment methods.
What diseases can apricot trees get?
Apricot trees can be affected by frostbite, curl disease, shotgun disease and bacterial blight. Natural remedies such as Bacillus thuringiensis preparations, copper-containing solutions or biological fungicides can be used for control and prevention.
Frost tensioner
This pest is a common butterfly. The caterpillars of this species are particularly dangerous.
Visible:
- Leaves and fruits: eaten and have holes
- Leaves and flowers: woven together
On warm days, Bacillus thuringiensis preparations (€126.00 at Amazon) can be used. Natural enemies of the frost moths are native great tits. Put a small bird house on the apricot tree. Maybe the birds are interested in your shelter and use the good food source right there.
Frizz disease
The cause of curl disease is a stubborn fungus. You have to take action against him at the beginning of the year. Spraying copper-containing solutions or using natural products has proven to be effective.
Symptoms:
- young leaves: discolored, blistered surface
- Fruits and leaves die
A treatment is only effective if it is finished before the bud threshold. If you miss this point, all affected leaves, twigs and fruits must be completely removed. Be sure to throw these away with your normal household waste.
Shotgun disease
Some gardeners can sing a sad song about the famous hole disease.
Symptoms:
Leaves: round, brown spots (dead tissue), then small holes
Fungicides have proven to be effective in combating this disease. Biological alternatives include products with additives made from clay, copper or sulfur. For prevention, stick onions or garlic cloves under the apricot tree.
Bacterial fire
This disease can be recognized by various symptoms.
Identifiable at first glance:
- Leaf edge: small brown spots
- Consequence: death of the leaves
- Fruits: black spots
- increasing resin excretion
- visible depressions in the tree bark
To this day, bacterial burns cannot be completely combated. For this reason, preventative methods play a special role. For this purpose, gardeners whiten the trunk of the apricot tree. In addition, spraying copper solutions can protect against the infectious disease.
Tips & Tricks
Breeding is producing more and more resistant apricot varieties. However, individual fruit trees are only ever resistant to a specific disease.
