Anybody heard of apple scab? I was talking to an arborist that I know and I mentioned that my flowering crab apple trees look like crap this year and I noticed that most others in the neighborhood aren’t looking good. He said it’s apple scab. The leaves look like they have scabs on them, they don’t leaf out fully and they drop leaves early. Caused by a fungus. Says it takes 2 treatments in the spring, one just after they bud and another 14 days later when they leaf out. I’m planning on treating them next spring!
looks like a cleanup of fallen leaves in the fall may help in aiding reduction of scab. A good fungicide at the proper time(s) in the spring. Apple Disease - Apple Scab
I have something in my crab apple trees for years now. They leaf out fine, but starting in July look a little sickly and slowly drop their leaves over a couple three months. I have just been living with it and have not used any treatment. Many of the crab apple trees around here have it. Neighbor told me its treatable with a spray in the spring. Lately, I'm just trying to find any tree species that doesn't have some issue taking them out...
Arborist is right. Biggest think is the spraying in the spring. Not sure about other places but the fruit this year is terrible, just like most farm crops. Just one of those bad years. Terrible year for acorns too.
I planted my mini orchard in March and routinely used Bonide Orchard Spray and haven't had any issues. We have plenty of cedars and pests around here so I think it's a pretty good product. Next year I'm going to use it again but switch to the "copper" spray during the flowering period so it doesn't harm the bees.
This was my first thought as well but the issue described by the Extension Office article posted by Farmer Steve appears to be somewhat different. Though both being a fungus, should be treatable the same way but this cursed tropical humidity two years running isn't helping anything. I have a Hawthorn Tree in my yard that I was happy to see full of flowers in the spring as I collect the berries (fantastic heart medicine). Checking on the berries a month later I was horrified to find them covered in some alien looking orange warts that I identified as stage two of Cedar Rust which all the Hawthorns seam to have on their leaves to some extent. I dissolved as much pure Borax as would dissolve in warm water and sprayed down the whole tree, berries leaves and all. Weeks later the fungus was gone and roughly half of the berries have survived. If I had seen it earlier, probably could have saved them all. Human and plant bodies use Boron (Borax is a 100% natural Boron salt), Zinc & Copper to kill fungi & bacteria among other things. These are all natural nutrients needed for normal function and growth. Aside from spraying directly they can also be amended into the soil but it is best to have the soil tested by your local Extension office to just make sure that it really needs them. Soil PH is also crucial to a plants health, ability to take up soil nutrients and fight off disease themselves.
I'm not sure how fast it should get into production, but my apple tree I planted 4 years ago bloomed for the first time this spring. It was such a cold spring I blame a lack of bees to pollinate. I only have one lone apple on the tree. Is it the cold spring, because it was its first flowering, no bees, the off season???? Anyone else have a poor fruit set? Has anybody any tips for the variety "Wodarz"?
Most apples need a pollinating buddy. Ideally you want another apple species with the same flowering window or at least a large overlap in bloom time. Depending on what type you have (dwarf, semi-dwarf, standard) will depend on how soon the tree is mature enough to begin flowering and bearing fruit. Dwarfs reach the age to bear fruit sooner, but are smaller and have a much shorter life span. The opposite is true as you go up the rung.
Well I sprayed copper very early and 7 cover sprays to abate scab. Some of the sprays had two fungicides in them.
