Apple storage diseases are a very big problem today, not only for fruit growers but also for people who have several apple trees in their home or allotment garden. That is why it is worth learning how to prevent storage diseases and what to do in the event of their occurrence. Here are the most commonapple storage diseasesSee what remedy will best protect your apples from rot and mold.
Storage diseases of apples
Many people think that apples are hard fruits that are easy to store.Meanwhile, these are delicate fruits, especially right after harvest, and require a lot of work to keep them well. If we do not provide apples with appropriate storage conditions, then they start to develop very quicklystorage diseases of applesMost often this type of disease is caused by fungi.
Note! The harmfulness of apple storage diseases is quite high because the infected fruit is completely unfit for consumption. Some fungi create mycotoxins that are harmful to the human body. It is also worth remembering that rotten apples should not be used for processing, because the toxins pass into the preserves and are as dangerous as on the raw fruit.
Below we present some of the most known and most frequently developing apple storage diseases.Gray mold of apples
Gray mold is caused by the well-known fungus Botrytis cinerea, which affects many garden plants also during the growing season.This fungus most often finds its way to apples through a cracked skin during harvesting. In the storage room, the fruit becomes covered with gray mold and infects neighboring apples. If we do not remove the infected apples in time, the fungus will attack the entire fruit harvest. The development of thisapple storage diseaseis also favored by placing wet fruit in the storage room, so you should always make sure that the apples are dry and that the humidity in the storage room is adequate, not too high.
Wet rot of apples
Wet rot is a typicalapple storage diseasePenicillium expansum, which causes wet rot in apples, gets to the fruit when the skin is cut or the stalk is torn out. Most often, infection occurs with improper harvesting. The fungus, as it grows, causes the whole fruit to rot, which becomes soft and watery and gives off a bad smell of rot. The unpleasant smell is transferred to the neighboring he althy fruit. Infected fruit should be removed from storage, it is unfit for consumption.
Bitter rot of apples
Currently, it is the most popular storage disease of apples. It is caused by fungi of the genus Pezicula, which enter the fruit through spiracles on their skin.
How to recognize bitter rot of apples?The most dangerous of bitter rot of apples is its hidden development inside the fruit, which makes it impossible Determine when you start storing the apples if they are infected or not. Therefore, it is worth taking a few fruits from each apple box in the storage room and keeping them at normal room temperature for a few days. If we do not notice any changes, it means that the apples are free from bitter rot. However, if dark eyes appearing on the skin, which are clusters of fungus, it means that the apples have been infected.
Brown rot of apples
This apple storage disease is caused by the fungus Monilinia fructigena. This disease has two periods of occurrence - summer and storage.Of allapple storage diseases,brown rot produces the earliest symptoms. Already during the first month of storage, the fruit begins to turn black, becomes hard and slowly mummifies. Remove contaminated apples from storage. Fortunately, when detected early, this storage disease does not cause large losses.
How to prevent apple storage diseases?
Recently, a new, very effective agent has appeared on the market that prevents the appearance of apple storage diseases. It is a biological preparation of Polywersum WP. This measure is applied approximately 7 days before harvest. All Polywersum WP trees should be sprayed, preferably in the second half of the day, when the sun is no longer shining so much. Thanks to the use of this spray, the risk of apple storage diseases is reduced by several dozen percent! It should be remembered that Polywersum WP should always be poured into a thoroughly washed and disinfected sprayer, preferably one that has never been sprayed with fungicides.Before pouring it into the sprayer, soak the required amount of Polywersum WP in lukewarm water for an hour. Such preparations are time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the protective effect is definitely worth our work.
Katarzyna Matuszak
