Monilia mushroom( Monilia), which causes the disease of fruit trees - moniliosis, causes great damage to our gardens. In the people, this is the most devastating disease of stone fruit, more commonly known as “brown rot” or “mummified fruit”.Immediately, I note that monilioz is very difficult to treat. As a rule, monilia spores strike flowers, buds, and fruits. The most characteristic symptoms are damage to the flowers, the green tips of the branches during the germination of the pathogen fungus in the blooming flowers through the stigmas of the pistils or stamens.
Monilia mushroom struck the branches of the cherry What causes the appearance of the fungus monilia on stone fruit? First, a sharp change in temperature( it was cool, plus precipitation fell).Secondly, the length of the stone fruit flowering causes new, new infections later than other flowering branches. For example, early varieties of cherries are rarely affected by moniliosis.
This pathogen, the monilia mushroom, infects stone fruit trees - cherry, apricot, plum, cherry, and others. Monilial burn begins in spring, when an infection spreads through the flowers, transmitted by air currents on the stigma of the pistil. Spores of the fungus germinate quickly - within 28 hours they are found in the ovary of the flower.
The rate of development of the disease depends on environmental conditions. The fungal mycelium moves rapidly along the branch, infecting healthy tissue. Monilia nutrition in plant tissues is associated with the release of toxins, which act on the host plant. As a result, the yield of such plants decreases, as a rule, by 35-40%; there have been cases when the entire crop has disappeared.
In some cases, however, the monilia mushroom can also infect the old branches of fruit trees. There were cases when the trees died after frost, as they had a monilial burn, monilioz.
The disease usually leads to wilting of the whole branch. At first the leaves hang down, later they turn brown, dried, but usually they do not fall off, remain on the tree until the next spring. In wet weather at the base of the affected inflorescence, between the drying and living parts of the infected sprigs, fluffy light cream pads( sporohodias) appear, and sometimes drops of thick resin. Fungi infected fruits are gradually covered with putrefactive stains. Spots grow and then spread over the entire surface of the fruit. Over time, the affected fruits dry up, hang on a tree all winter. Therefore, it is very important to prune infected branches.
Fetal infection with moniliosis can occur during any period of fetal development. Mechanical damage to fruits( from birds, wind) can also serve as an entry point for a monilian fungus. For example, the volume of prune fruit increases significantly when the color starts to change from green to purple, at which time the skin of the fruit becomes softer, the volume of the fruit increases, and the skin of the fruit stretches. Thus, microcracks appear in the skin - the spores of the monilia fungus easily penetrate into the fetus. Moniliasis damage may occur during fruit storage.
Monilia spores under a microscope Monil spores overwinter on the bark of a tree and spread to the wind. They also overwinter in diseased plant debris( fallen plant sprigs) or in sprigs on trees, fruits, where it enters the period of fruit formation by means of the wind or insects - flies, which in large numbers can rest on fruits. May infect moth or birds. Fruits are covered with ash-gray pads of sporulation. The symptoms of moniliosis on infected young seedlings are not always noticeable, and this increases the risk of spreading the disease to healthy fruit trees.
Does the role of an agricultural technician for growing stone fruits play a role? Of course, yes. Pruning, watering, digging pristvolnyh circles, organic fertilizers strengthen the immune system of plants, but, unfortunately, do not allow to protect plant organisms from the development of infection.
The only way to get rid of the fungus is to regularly treat trees in spring and autumn with copper-containing preparations. I advise you to abandon the use of Bordeaux blend in the fight against moniliasis, since it gives a low effect. It is best to use drugs of the new generation - fungicides "Horus", "Benolil".
It is also necessary to remove mummified fruits that remain on the trees or lie on the ground, their destruction. It is necessary to cut off the branches affected by the fungus monilia with a margin, capturing 10-15 cm of the healthy part of the branch. Doing this work will have several years in a row to prevent burns from developing.
It is best to burn pruned, affected by moniliasis, branches, collected diseased fruits. If you do not do this, the fungus spores will annually damage your fruit trees. Do not bury the fruits affected by brown rot in your area. It is also not recommended to feed them to animals or poultry, because then, fertilizing your plots with manure, you continue to infect the soil with monilia spores.
It is necessary to fight with codling moths, cherry flies, and weevil beetles, brains, as they are carriers of the spores of the monilia mushroom. I will not propose to plant moniliose-resistant varieties, since the proposed control measures should be directed to preserve the plants already grown in the garden.
