Back

Apple(Malus domestica Borkh); Rosaceae

  1. Jammu and Kashmir : Golden Delicious (Late Season), Lal Ambri, Mollies Delicious, Starkrimson, Red June, Irish Peach, Benoni and Tydeman’s Early
  2. Himachal Pradesh : Golden Delicious (Late Season), Red Delicious (Mid season), McIntosh
  3. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh : McIntosh, Chaubattia Anupam
  4. Tamil Nadu  : Irish Peach and Zouches Pipin (Early); KKL 1, Carrington and Winterstein (Mid -season); Rome Beauty and Parlin’s Beauty (late)

Irish Peach and Zouches Pipin.Yield: April – May

Carrington and Winterstein.

Yield: June – July

Rome Beauty, Parlin‘s Beauty and KKL 1.

Yield: August – September.

Soil –

  • Red lateritic soils with good drainage and high organic matter are more suitable.
  • The soil pH should be around 5.8 to 6.2.
  • Liming is essential to correct the pH of acidic soil.
  • A minimum depth of 1.6 metre is desirable and can be grown from 1200 to 2000 m MSL.

Climate –

  • Most of commercial apple tree varieties thrive in cold and wet climate, where a cold winter is followed by cool spring and summer.
  • Abundant sunlight is necessary, as it significantly affects the color of the fruit.
  • Generally, the apple tree has greater needs in cold than most of other deciduous fruit trees.

One year old grafts on M.778 and M.779 rootstocks during June – July.

June to December.

4 x 4 m in pits of 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm.

Water the plants till establishment

Apply FYM 25 kg. N 500 g and 1 kg in each of P and K per bearing tree.

  • The tree is trained to open center system.
  • Prune the tree every year during the month of December – January.

1.Scab : Venturia inaequalis

Pin-point scab on fruit.

Symptoms

  • Symptom appears on leaves and fruits.
  • On lower side of the leaf lesion appear as olivaceous spots   which turn dark brown to black and become velvety.
  • On young foliage, the spots have a radiating appearance with a feathery edge.
  • On older leaves the lesions are more definite in outline.

Management

  • Clean cultivation, collection and destruction of fallen leaves and pruned materials in winter to prevent the sexual cycle.
  • Spray Tridemorph 0.1% before flowering.
  • Spray Mancozeb 0.25 % at bearing stage.
  • Spray 5 % urea prior to leaf fall in autumn and 2 % before bud break to hasten the decomposition of leaves.

S.No

Tree stage

Fungicide/100 lit

1

Silver tip to given tip

Captafol 200 gm (or) Captan 300 g or Mancozeb 400 g

2

Pink bud or 15 days after 1 st  spray

Captan 250 g or Mancozeb 300 g

3

Petal fall

Carbendazim 50 g

4

10 days later

Captan 200 g.or Mancozeb 300g

5

14 days after fruit set

Captofol 150 g

  • Add stickers – teepol or triton 6 ml/10 lit of spray fluid.

2.Powdery mildew: Podosphaera leucotricha

Symptom

  • Small patches of white powdery growth appear on upper side of leaves.
  • In severe case the symptom appear on both the sides.
  • Twigs are also infected. Affected leaves fall off in severe infection.
  • Fruit buds are also affected and deformed or remain small.

Management

  • Spray Dinocap 0.05% or Chinomethionate 0.1%

3.Fire blight: Erwinia amylovora

Symptom

  • The initial symptom usually occurs on leaves, which become water soaked, then shrivel turn brownish to black in colour and fall or remain hanging in tree.
  • The symptom spread to twigs. Terminal twigs wilt from tip to downward and also spread to branches.
  •  Fruits becomes water soaked, turns brown, shrivels and finally becomes black.
  • Oozing may be seen in the affected area.

Management

  • Removal and destruction of affected parts.
  • Removal of blighted twigs
  • Spray with Streptomycin 500 ppm

4.Soft rot: Penicillium expansum

Symptom

  • Young spots starts from stem end of the fruit as light brown watery rot.
  • As the fruit ripens  area of the rotting increases
  • Skin becomes wrinkled.
  • A peculiar musty odour is emitted
  • Under humid condition a bluish green sporulating growth appears.
  • Infection take place by wounds in the skin caused by insects and during handing in storage and transport
Management
  • Careful handling of fruits without causing any wounds.
  • Dipping the fruits aureofunginsol @ 500 ppm for 20 min gives best control

5.Bitter rot : Glomerella cingulata

Small bitter rot lesions, a few acervuli on surface of largest lesion.

Symptom

  • Faint, light brown discolouration beneath the skin develops. The discolouration expands in a cone shape. The circular, rough lesions become depressed. The lesions increased and covers  entire areas of fruits.
  • Diny black dots appear beneath the cuticle which gives rise to acervuli
  • Pink masses of spores are found arranged in defined rings.

Management

  • Spray Mancozeb 0.25 % in field.
  • Treatment with Mancozeb 0.25 % to check the disease in storage

1.Wooly aphids – Eriosoma lanigerum

http://www.inra.fr/hyppz/IMAGES/7030251.jpg

Symptoms of damage:

  • Nymphs and adults suck the juice from bark of the trunk or fruits
  • Weakening and death of the smaller plants
  • Infested twigs shrivel and die
  • Galls on the roots
  • White, woolly patches on the trunk.
  • Management-
  • The rootstocks resistant to wooly aphis viz., M 778, 799, MM 104, MM 110, MM 112, MM 113, MM 114 and MM 115 can be used.
  • The parasite Aphelinus mali  and the Coccinellid Predators should be conserved in the field.
  • Apply carbofuran 3 % G @ 166 g/tree or phorate 10 % G @ 100 g/tree or spray any one of the following insecticide
InsecticideDose
Chlorpyrifos 20%EC2.5 ml/lit.
Malathion 50%EC1.0  ml/lit.
Oxydemeton –Methyl 25% EC1.0  ml/lit.
Quinalphos 25%EC2.0  ml/lit.

2.San Jose scale: Quadraspidiotus perniciosus

WVapplesFig5

Symptoms of damage:

  • The infested region in bark becomes reddish pink
  • Purple discolouration on fruits
  • Infested shoots – loss of vigour and death of young tree or branches

Management:

  • Select nursery stock free scale infestation
  • Summer spray with phosalone 50 EC 0.05%
  • Winter spray with diesel oil emulsion at 8-12 l/ tree (diesel oil 4.5 l, soap 1 kg, water 54 -72 l)
  • Encourage the activity of parasitoids: Prospaltella perniciosi and Aspidiotophagus sp
  • Field release of coccinellid, Chilocorus circumdatus predator

3.Codling moth : Cydia (=Carpocapsa) pomonella 

Symptoms of damage:

  • Caterpillar bore into the fruits and feed on the pulp
  • Infested leaves and fruits show tunnels with frass

Management:

  • Field sanitation
  • Collect and destroy the infested fruits and cocoons
  • Banding – corrugated cardboard bands should be applied to tree trunks
  • Use sex pheromone trap
  • Mass trap males with codling moth lure traps
  • Release egg parasitoids, Trichogramma embryophagum at 2000/tree
  • Apply Virosoft CP4 Granulovirus
    • Codling moth larvae must eat the virus before they enter the fruit
    • Spray DDVP 0.04%
  • Apply acetempride (4 application per season) during egg laying stage

4.Cottony cushion scale: Icerya purchasi 

Symptoms of damage:

  • Nymph and adults suck the sap from leaves and twigs
  • Yellowing of leaves.

Management :

  • Select healthy and pest free rootstock
  • Collect and destroy the infested plant parts
  • Spray application of neem oil 2%, NSKE 5%
  • Spray application of chlorpyriphos 20 EC 0.04% with sticking agent
  • Field release of some coccinelid predators and chilocorus nigritus

5.Stem borer: Apriona cinera 

3057081_flatheaded_appletree_borer300

Symptoms of damage:

  • Grub provide circular holes and mass of excreta
  • Chewed up wood particles protruding out;
  • Bark gnawed and leaves defoliated
  • Shoots with circuitous galleries and the infested trees stunted

Management:

  • Prune the branches containing grubs before they entered the tree trunk

10 – 20 kg / tree / year. The tree starts bearing from 4th year of planting.