Barberry Diseases - Causes

Thunberg barberry is often used as a decorative element in a garden plot. Some species are characterized by inedible berries, but more often you can find useful plants from which they harvest a rich harvest. This is not always possible to do in full, since barberries are often attacked by pests and infect diseases.

Brief description of the plant

Barberries are shrubs of the Barberry family. An unpretentious plant can grow on dry and stony soils. Culture loves light, therefore, in the wild, lives on the slopes of the mountains and forest edges. Barberry can be grown throughout Russia.

Bunch of barberry

The plant has a powerful main root, from which long rhizomes depart. The branches are elongated, with thorns and thin green leaves. Flowering begins in May - racemose inflorescences of 20-25 flowers are formed on the branches. In early autumn, bright red oblong berries appear in barberry.

Why Disease May Occur

This is due to a decrease in the plant’s immune system. The reason may be increased humidity during prolonged rains or improper watering.

Improper care

Barberry does not require special care, but certain recommendations should be observed. Excessive watering, refusal to fertilize, lack of cultivation, improper pruning can cause the appearance of insects and diseases. If the summer is very hot, it is important to spray.

Frequent diseases

Diseases of barberry and the fight against them take away a lot of energy from the gardener. To reduce their number, it is necessary to follow the rules of plant care and carry out preventive measures.

Powdery mildew on leaves

Fungal disease manifests itself in the form of white plaque and spots on the leaves of barberry. The initial stage of infection passes unnoticed by the gardener. Gradually, the shrub begins to fade and become covered with cobwebs, the leaves curl from a lack of nutrition.

With each stage of the disease, ways to get rid of powdery mildew on barberry are getting smaller. At the very beginning, it is recommended to cut off the infected foliage and burn it. The bush must be treated with special solutions until flowers appear on it.

If barberry is longer, then in the fall it is worth treating it with Fitosporin. You can use for these purposes a solution prepared from laundry soap and soda ash.

Powdery mildew

Rust on the leaves of barberry

The appearance of rust on barberry is due to a lack of nutrients. A fungal disease manifests itself in the form of orange spots that cover not only the leaves, but also the stem of the plant. Spores can be found on the bottom of the foliage.

To cope with rust, you can use drugs with a high sulfur content in the composition. Most often sprayed with Bordeaux liquid. Parts of the plant affected by rust are recommended to be cut and scorched.

Rust

Spotting on the leaves of barberry

Several types of this disease are known: black spotting, brown and white. Each species has its own distinctive features and the source of the problem. If you start the bush, it will begin to dry out, its leaves will first curl, and then fall off. There is a disease due to lack of nutrients. The treatment is carried out using drugs with a high copper content. So that these funds do not affect the fruits, it is necessary to perform several treatments a month before they are collected.

Spotting

Necrosis of the cortex

Some fungal spores fall into cracks in the cortex, and subsequently cause its necrosis. This disease is characterized by dead sections of the upper layer of the lignified part of the stems, which swell and expose areas with spores.

Necrosis of the cortex

Stalk dry

The shrunken crown and bark are also the result of a fungal disease. The only treatment in this case is cutting off the affected areas of the plant.

Bacterioses barberry

In the presence of bacteriosis, dark spots appear on the leaves. In the process of the disease, large areas of the plant die off, swellings appear on the shoots. You can save the plant by removing all infected shoots.

Bacteriosis

Barberry Cancer

Plants with low immunity can get cancer. At the same time, the barberry bark begins to crack and rot, the number of fruits decreases on it, and on the branches you can notice an unhealthy kind of growths. As a treatment, you need to cut off the tumor, cut off the unhealthy shoots and treat the cut points with a solution of copper sulfate. Later, the plant should be sprayed with a solution of Fundazole.

Pests

It is quite simple to get rid of insects infecting the plant, but not all gardeners notice their appearance on time, which negatively affects the condition of the bush. When wondering why barberry began to drop leaves in the summer, not everyone understands that it is a pest invasion.

Caterpillars

Different types of lepidopteran insects leave their larvae on barberry. Pests can lay them on leaflets, under the bark or in the soil. If the caterpillars appeared on the bush, the leaves of the plant will begin to turn yellow and curl, and then fall off, because the pests feed on the juice of the bush. If the caterpillars are not exterminated in time, the bush can completely dry.

If the caterpillars appeared on the barberry, the methods of dealing with them will be as follows:

1. 3 weeks before harvesting, shrubs are sprayed with Chlorophos or Decis, following the instructions for use.
2. The barberry leaves eaten by the caterpillars are removed.
3. From folk methods, spraying bushes with tincture of wormwood and fumigation helps.

Barberry Saw

Aphids on barberry

The reason why barberry leaves are dried may be aphids. She lives on the underside of the leaves and feeds on the sap of the plant. Symptoms of infection: twisting of the foliage and the appearance of a yellow color on it.

To control the pest use solutions containing sulfur. You can make decoctions with a pungent odor. Most often, spraying with garlic or tobacco solution is practiced.

Aphid

Ticks

This is the most dangerous pest of barberry. Ticks multiply rapidly. If there are several bushes of a plant on the site, everyone will be infected. You can detect an adult insect by its bright orange color.

What to do when barberry dries: Dilute 1 ampoule of Fitoverma in a liter of water and spray the plant. An effective way is the use of Talstar, which is sold in powder and liquid form. For reliability, barberry is also treated with an alcohol solution.

Mite

Preventative measures

Reanimating the plant is more difficult than preventing barberry diseases, as well as insect infestations. Basic preventive measures:

1. When buying cuttings, you need to carefully inspect the root system. If some roots are not healthy, this is a sign of weak immunity. Buying such a plant is not worth it.
2. Barberry should be planted in a well-ventilated and illuminated area of ​​the site.
3. Between the bushes it is worth observing a distance of at least 0.5 m.
4. Annual sanitary pruning should not be too strong.
5. The material collected during trimming must be burned.

When the leaves curl and dry in barberry, why this happens, you need to figure it out. The main reasons are infection with diseases and the invasion of pests. Proper care and regular preventative treatment will help to avoid such problems.

Watch the video: Barberry - PT 1 - The Trouble with Barberry (May 2024).