American Pomology. ApplesWarder, J. A. (John Aston)
Science
American Pomology. Apples
Warder, J. A. (John Aston)
Apples
The treatment of this malady is quite unsatisfactory, and gives us no
clue to the cause of the trouble. Various plans have been suggested,
the most satisfactory is the removal of the affected limbs--not that
it cures the disease, but because it takes from us the sad mementos of
our loss. We have been advised to pare away the diseased portion of
old bark with a spoke-shave, or some similar instrument; but it is
apprehended that few persons would ever find this patch of dead bark
until they have the fatal evidence of the blighted foliage, and no
possible good can result from its removal at that time.
This trouble is connected, in many instances, with an excessively
vigorous growth of shoots; indeed, some of those varieties which are
most thrifty, suffer the most, while those which make firm and
moderately short shoots, seldom blight. Hence it has been inferred by
some, that if we can check this excessive vigor, and reduce the wood
growth to a moderate amount, not exceeding ten or twelve inches,
annual extension, we shall be able to prevent the occurrence of
blight. This object is easily attained by root-pruning the trees
severely in the spring of the year. So far, we can only say that trees
so treated, have not blighted; but it does not follow that they would
have suffered if let alone.
Another form of blight may often be seen in the peach and in the
apple; it consists in a loss of vitality of small twigs and their
foliage in several parts of the tree, especially in the inner portions
that are not freely exposed to the air and light. In the peach, this
disease is accompanied with the decay of the fruit upon these twigs,
which rots and becomes moldy. This trouble is usually attributed to
mildew, and it is probably owing to some form of fungus invasion.
Quite a different affection of the twigs is that known as the "blight"
in apples and quinces. This attacks only the young shoots of the
current season's growth, which suddenly wither and become brown at
mid-summer. The same condition occurs also in the shoots of the
Italian mulberry. The cause of this malady is not very apparent; by
some persons it is attributed to the punctures of minute insects, but
they have escaped the scrutiny of other observers, who attribute this
blight to atmospheric causes.
The true apple blight is a malady of very serious character, that
invades many orchards in the Western States. In its nature, and in the
mode of its invasion, it very much resembles the dreaded fire-blight
of the pear, with which most orchardists have unfortunately become
already but too familiar. Like it too, all the guesses which Solons
have offered for the explanation of its cause, appear equally
unsatisfactory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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