Symptoms of pine rashare yellowing, then browning, and drooping needles on which black spots and transverse lines can be found. Before we reach forpine rash spray , it is worth making sure that there is no other reason for the dropping of the needles. Ourphotos of pine rashWe also advise you how to carry outcombating pine rashin your home garden.
Pine rash - symptoms in autumn. Older needles turn yellow and have spots, they will drop soon
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Symptoms of pine rash
Pine rashis a disease caused by fungi of the genus Lophodermium. It is a disease dangerous mainly for young plants, although it can also occur in older pines. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is particularly at risk, but the disease can also affect other pines. It is different withresistance to the rash of garden pine varietiesIn my garden, the disease strongly affected Jeffrey's pine 'Joppi' visible in the photos, and did not touch other grafted miniature pine varieties, but only slightly affected the pine common 'Watereri' (changes visible only on single needles on lower branches).
Symptoms of rash are evident in older, at least one-year oldincrements, while young pine shoots remain green. As a result of infection with rash,pine needles turn yellow, then turn brown and fall offThese symptoms can still be confusing because the drop of pine needles is a normal phenomenon, allowing the plant to rejuvenate the needles.The problem is when the needles start to fall down massively and black spots and cross lines appear on them. The observation of spots and lines definitely means that we are dealing with a pine rash.
The fungus that causes pine rash hibernates on the plant in needles infected in summer.In spring, such needles turn brown and fall off , and on the fallen needles, fruiting bodies and spores of the fungus are formed, which, together with the wind and splashed water drops, get to the plants, re-infecting them. As a result ofinfection, single spots may appear on the yellowing needles in spring and summer, while in September they turn into transverse lines covering the entire circumference of the needle
First symptoms of rash in the spring (spots on the needles)
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Affected needles may also drop at the end of summerBag spores forming on fallen needles are released especially en masse from September to November, infecting subsequent trees.
So as you can see, there are several dates for spore release and infecting trees. For this reason,spraying against pine rash must also be performed on several dates- in spring, summer and autumn.
Needles dropped from pine needles with visible spots
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Fighting pine rash
Fighting pine rash mainly consists in removing fallen needles from under the trees , because they release the spores of the fungus. This should be done as soon as the needles fall, both in spring and fall. On single collector's specimens of miniature pines, the browning needles can be separated from the planteven before they fall offIn the case of my Jeffrey pine 'Joppi', the brown needles were very easy to detach from the plant (they fell off when lightly touched) so I removed them regularly as more browning needles appeared.
Unfortunately, if we have large pines or there are many trees in the garden, raking needles from under them is a backbreaking job. In such situations, when spraying against pine rash,should spray not only the tree but also the needles underneath it .
Before I go to spraying, however, let's listother ways to combat pine rash .
Spots and transverse lines visible on pine needles, covering the entire circumference of the needle
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
In addition to removing brown and drooping needles,avoid planting too dense pine trees , and plant other plants that are not infected between the pines.Avoid sprinkling the pine trees while watering.It is better to provide water directly to the ground under the plants. When shopping for new copies , it is worth checking the plants carefully and not buying those that raise our doubts Today I know that it was with the newly bought Jeffrey 'Joppi' pine that I dragged the rash into my garden. The variety, however, is very valuable and I am trying to heal the pine, because it is a pity to throw it away.
The rash is so dangerous for pines and it infects them easily that despite all the remedial measures, if a sick pine appears in the garden, it will not be possible without spraying it. Importantly,spraying against rash must be performed at several times- in spring, preferably at the end of April, then in the second half of June (before the July spore discharge), and then in September (before the September-September discharge). October).
On these dates, we spray Topsin M 500 SC and Scorpion 325 SC with alternate treatments.Spray the entire diseased plant and the needles beneath itand other pine trees growing nearby.
In the fight against pine rash, it is also worth helpingwith the natural preparation Biosept Active.It is a preparation based on grapefruit extract, which generally strengthens and immunizes plants against diseases.We spray Biosept Active every 2 weeks from spring to autumnIn already sick pine trees, it is worth doing them additionally, as a supplement to topical spraying with Topsin M 500 SC and Scorpion 325 SC, as well as preventively on all pines, that have not yet been electrocuted.
Pine rash spray is not everything
In my own garden, ECTOVIT® conifer mycorrhiza brought very good results in the fight against pine rash . The most affected by the rash was Jeffrey's miniature pine 'Joppi'. The needles turned yellow, flecked and fell one by one, and the disease began to spread to other pines in my garden. The 'Joppi' pine seemed to be impossible to save asthis pine variety is very sensitive to the rash
In the fall of 2018I applied ECTOVIT® mycorrhiza to all the pines growing in my garden At the same time, I gave up the use of chemical spraying and sprayed the pines only with the natural preparation Biosept Active. Now, 1.5 years after the application of mycorrhiza (spring 2020), I can say that no pine tree in my garden shows any rash symptoms. The effects of treating Jeffrey's 'Joppi' pine, susceptible to this disease, are shown in the photos below.
How I overcame the pine rash thanks to ECTOVIT® mycorrhiza
Fig. © PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
Mycorrhiza in the form of a gel is applied to holes made in the ground within the roots of the plant. The mycorrhizal fungi contained in the preparation support the development of the plant's roots, strengthen it and make it resistant to diseases.
If you have been struggling with pine rash for a long time , it is worth supporting the activities by administering the mycorrhizal preparation .
