Gardeners with apple or pear trees are being warned to check them in January for a potentially deadly disease. Alan Buckingham, author of Allotment Month By Month, advises in the January section of his book that gardeners should inspect apple and pear trees for signs of canker and remove any infected wood if discovered.
The decay is caused by a fungus that attacks the tree’s bark, with apple and pear trees being the most common hosts. If not addressed, canker can kill a tree in a single season and spread to others.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society: “Apple canker is a disease caused by a fungus, Neonectria ditissima, which attacks the bark of apples and some other trees, causing a sunken area of dead bark and, eventually, death of the branch. New cankers form from mid-spring and, once formed, are present all year. Cankers can also develop on the trunk.”
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Apples are the most important hosts, although pears and Sorbus species are also attacked and, less frequently, ash, beech and some other trees. If you discover canker on your fruit trees, the best course of action is to immediately cut it out.
The RHS further advises: “Completely cut out all affected smaller branches and spurs. With the larger branches, try to cut out all infected material. All such pruning should remove all brown, infected bark and wood, cutting back to fresh green tissues.”, reports the Express.
“Paint immediately with a protective wound paint such as Medo, Growing Success Prune and Seal or Provanto Arbrex Seal and Heal to prevent the wounds from becoming reinfected.”