Leucostoma canker

Sometimes when you checking your orchard in the spring, you may notice that some trees leak hardened resin. This phenomenon is called Leucostoma canker and most often affects stone fruit trees, such as apricots, peaches or cherries. Inexperienced gardeners often do not pay enough attention to this however, they may lose the entire harvest due to this failure. In the following article, we shall explain what resin leakage means and what to do with it.

Why are trees bleeding?

Resin is a sugary, sticky substance that forms inside trees. Most often we see it oozing out from a wound on a trunk or branches where it later solidifies and turns into a yellow, orange or black mass, but it can also appear on fruits. If it does, it is a reaction to an attack by parasites or as a reaction to a disturbance in the plant’s metabolism. For example, in cherries the gummy flow is due to infection by bacteria and fungi. In apricots and peaches, it indicates inappropriate nutrition or deep injury. It also occurs due to over-fertilization with nitrogen or due to a lack of calcium. It is rather common in overgrown and old trees.

Photo: Pixabay

What can you do about it?

Simply cleaning and painting the wound with wax for example does not solve anything. You need to find out the cause first and that can be difficult. If you are not familiar with tree diseases you should call an expert or search gardening literature. However, if you discover damaged branches on your trees, the first thing you should do is to cut them off and burn them to prevent the spread pathogens. Large dead lesions on the trunk should be cut out completely – down a healthy wood part. When done, you need to apply a suitable disinfectant.

Photo: Pixabay

Prevention

There are several ways to prevent Leucostoma canker. Correct pruning and regular spraying against pests is essential. Moderate watering is also important, because trees that sit in a wet soil are prone to get various bacteria and diseases.

You should also protect the trees from external damage (e.g. from game bites and from frost), especially in early spring. And very important thing is to keep the soil permeable and lose.

Source: info https://sadar-amater.estranky.cz/clanky/nekolik-rad/klejotok-peckovin.html

Preview photo: Pixabay