How to fight the apricot gummy in a biological way

How to fight the apricot gummy in a biological way

The gummy of many plants, like that of apricot, can be a completely normal consequence to the plant’s metabolism or at least to particular morphological or physiological states.
In most cases the rubber formations are caused by infections of monilia (Monilia laxa). This microscopic fungus winters in the gummy cancers present on the branches of the plant and whose infectious elements contaminate the flowers, causing their wilting and death. The infection then spreads to the branches with consequent formation of cancers, gum emissions and desiccation of the part placed above the gum cancer. The infections then affect the fruits that are ripening or nearing harvest, on which it causes the formation of rapidly growing rotting spots, on which small nutty-colored mold bearings develop.

In this tab, however, we will see how to fight the gummy apricot in a biological way. As mentioned, however, the gum is not necessarily the expression of a specific disease. It can also be a mucous exudate that originates from wounds caused by an action of saprophytic microorganisms that tend to aggravate the situation by preventing the healing of the lesion. They are gummy in case of injuries caused by traumas or climatic conditions, viruses, animal parasites, plant parasites (Phytophthora, Sclerotinia, Coryneum).
When this happens anyway there is a leak of a rubbery flow that appears on the woody organs in the form of a dense flow of a color that goes from white to yellow which, subsequently with the oxidation in contact with the air, takes on various shades of color depending on the microorganism that develops. Damage occurs with cell destruction, where the degenerative process occurs, or the loss of energetic substances which, over time, lead to the debilitation of the organ. When the flow reaches abundant proportions, it can also come to the death of the plant or to the necrosis of part of it.
The remedies against gum are in the meantime of a preventive diagnostic nature and, subsequently, the cause of a preventive (if possible) or curative nature has been established. Let’s start by saying immediately that the preventive form is always the best. This starts with always using sharply cut and previously treated cutting edges with fungicide products (Bordeaux mixture, lecithins, etc.). in the preventive phase the vegetational balances to be kept for the plant are also very important. the excess of synthetic fertilizers (above all nitric nitrogen) and sometimes excessive irrigation techniques predispose the plants to a greater susceptibility to the attacks; another question that is often overlooked is the pedoclimatic choice where the apricot trees are planted: heavy soils and areas with frequent fog will prepare your plants to almost certain gums. If all these negative conditions have been avoided and you want to give more strength and resistance to the plant we can act trying to prevent and / or cure the plant with preparations that will affect the triggering cause.
Excellent is the use of preparations based on sodium bicarbonate (or better than potassium), with the addition of macerated horsetail and nettle. This operation can be done completely preventively or in the case that a wound has been obtained: in this case the wound (if you want to be more sure) must be cleaned very carefully and disinfected with copper products (Bordeaux mixture).