A few decades ago, gardeners believed that honeysuckle did not get sick at all. But after a while, this statement was refuted. Today, the shrub is considered a very vulnerable plant. In this article, we will talk about the diseases that the plant suffers and insects that harm the crop.
Honeysuckle diseases
The following are common honeysuckle diseases (symptoms and treatments).
Mosaic Virus
Infection occurs from untreated planting material, the source is nematodes, which are large worms. This virus appears on young shrubs that have already taken root.
Bushiness causes disease. The symptom is characterized by a decrease in internodes, the formation of uneven branches and the appearance of extra shoots. The foliage stops growing and dries up, the bushes become smaller.
Fighting the Mosaic Virus: burning all infected branches and foliage.
Olive red spot
This ailment occurs due to poor quality care. It can be recognized by the red-olive spots on the outside and inside of the leaves. The disease of the plant strikes in the middle of summer. Over time, the mottling takes on a pronounced dark shade, the borders of which are almost black.
Fruit areas appear on diseased areas, in which fungal spores survive the winter season. Leaves turn yellow, dry and fall off.
Fighting Olive Red Spot: Use special fungicides such as Mancozeb. Bordeaux liquid also brings a positive result. Prevention consists in pruning the crown of the shrub and collecting fallen leaves or other organic debris.
Mottling leaves
Fighting leaf mottles: phytosanitary treatment and burning of all diseased bushes, branches and leaves. In the autumn season, the plant is pruned from dried branches, which may contain nematodes. Fertilizers are introduced and the soil is disinfected.
Frost shoots
Sometimes it happens that due to undefined reasons, shoots burst after winter. This phenomenon is called frost breakers. Various fungi begin to settle in the voids that appear, their growth leads to the drying out of the shoot and the shrub as a whole.
Fight against frost breakers: in the spring season, it is necessary to carefully examine the bush in order to detect such damage and eliminate them as soon as possible. After flowering, the plant needs to be sprayed with Bordeaux liquid so that the fungus does not begin to develop and spoil the bush.
Powdery mildew
This fungal disease shows itself in the formation of a white bloom on both sides of the leaf. But it can manifest itself only on one side. After a while, black spots appear on the affected areas, which dry out, the shoots are deformed. The spores that cause the disease live on the bark and on all organic debris.
Controlling powdery mildew: spraying the bushes with the substances "Raek", "Chistotsvet", "Tiovit". Frequent destruction of dried shoots and organic debris.
Blackening of branches
The disease attacks only those branches that have already begun to dry out. The fungus appears on weak shoots, creates a black layer on the bark. Plaque is a mycelium with a lot of spores.
Fight: elimination of dry branches. Preventive treatments of the berry bush, carried out in the spring or immediately after flowering, help. Better to opt for Bordeaux liquid.
Blackening of leaves
The disease is similar to the previous one, only myceliums do not appear on branches, but on foliage. The disease gradually covers the entire mass of the bush. The green mass breaks down, falls to the ground and dries.
Fighting leaf blackening: elimination of all dry branches. Regular spraying with Bordeaux liquid.
European cancer
The disease is also called common cancer. The disease develops in warm climatic conditions; residents of the northern regions of European cancer cannot be seen on the plant. Caused by spores of fungi, bushes are infected through wounds.
Too much rainfall provokes more active development of the disease. The foliage withers and becomes a different shade. The tops of the branches take on gray patches in which brown or black patches can be observed representing fungal spores.
Fighting European Cancer: preventive measures in the form of regular watering and spraying can help reduce the likelihood of disease. If the disease appears, then the first step is to remove all affected branches, then use chemicals that fight fungal diseases.
Be sure to wear gloves or purchase special pest control products.
Cercosporosis
The problem relates to fungal diseases of the berry bush. Round spots appear on the leaves. At first they are dull green in color, then they become brown. The green mass dries up gradually. On a rainy day, a "black rash" appears under the leaves.
Fight against cercospora: all diseased foliage is collected and burned. After that, spraying with Bordeaux liquid, soapy water, cuprozan or Fundazol is carried out. Experienced summer residents are advised to carry out preventive measures in the form of treatment in early spring so that the disease does not appear at all.
Tubercularisis
The disease is also called the drying of the shoots. It causes a lot of trouble for summer residents, red bumps appear on the diseased branches. Spores begin to infect other branches. In addition, the mycelium appears in the bark of the plant.
At the beginning of summer, the leaf blades wither, and all branches also lose their former appearance. At the end of summer, red tubercles form on the stems again. The spread of the dispute is repeated anew. The source fungus overwinters on weakened branches.
Tubercular control: the affected branches are removed and completely burned. Bordeaux liquid and copper oxychloride are suitable as a sprayer.
Ramulariasis
The people call the disease white spot. The disease often affects honeysuckle. At the beginning of the disease, small gray-brown marks appear on the foliage of the bush. Their appearance is described by the incorrect shape and the presence of a white center.
The plant grows - the spots also increase. On a rainy day, the fungus forms a special white coating on the leaves. They lose all nutrients, the roots become weaker, the bush is dying before our eyes. In winter, the pathogen lives in the ground or in the fallen leaves of a bush. Subzero temperature and humidity help the development of the disease.
Fight against ramulariasis: spraying the bush with a liquid in which the main component is copper sulfate. The effect will bring "Fundazol". You can apply these fungicides: "Topaz", "Quadris", "HOM", "Strobi" and "Apirin B".
Honeysuckle pests
Insects that harm the shrub are common in all regions and countries, so the gardener needs to know as much as possible about them in order to save the bush in time.
Honeysuckle mite
A large number of mites are found in humid climates and like shady areas. The plant can be affected by several types of this pest. If spots without definite shapes formed on the lower part of the foliage, and in August all the green mass turned brown and twisted, then the pest is rinkafitoptus.
From the tick, the corners of the foliage become corrugated, the foliage crumbles. In weak leaves, the upper part is covered with spores in the form of black dust.
Honeysuckle mite control: regular thinning of plants, pruning of branches. Treatment of plants with special substances: "Omite", "Mavrik" or "Tedion". At the end of the first month of summer, you can use Aktellikom (0.25%) and Rogorom (0.25%).
Honeysuckle fingerfly
It is a small gray butterfly, caterpillars eat fruits and berries, do not mind eating even with bones. Due to this pest, the fruits become darker, shriveled, do not ripen and fall off.
Fighting Honeysuckle Fingerwing: the Inta-Vir remedy, natural infusions of tomato and potato tops have proven themselves very well. There were cases when a pest swept away the crop, the fight in this case is harmful to the plant itself, because bushes with ripening fruits cannot be sprayed.
Honeysuckle aphid
During the appearance of this enemy of honeysuckle, the shoots begin to turn yellow in whole or in parts. Another symptom is that foliage folds in different directions and shapes. Honeysuckle aphids are gray larvae, they migrate to cereals, and in the fall season they return to lay eggs.
There are two types of aphids: apical and green. The upper leaves are twisted from the apical, they die, the growth of branches stops. The second type affects the entire green mass of the bush. It can appear throughout the year.
The first generation of insects can be observed at the beginning of summer, the second at the end of the first month of summer. The larvae deprive the green mass of juice and all nutrients, the plant dies.
Honeysuckle aphid control: summer treatments from the pest will hardly bring results. The shrub should be treated in early spring before bud break, so that all overwintered larvae die. For this they use "Eleksar", "Aktara", "Rogor" (0.2%).
Rose leaf roll
It is a small brown butterfly, it lays eggs. Caterpillars of green color live in honeysuckle and feed on shoots, buds, and everything that only comes to them. The damaged areas of the plant are combined into one lump, wrapped in cobwebs.
Fight: use means "Elesar" and "Aktellik". Pine infusion brings excellent results; it can be made at home or purchased at a pharmacy, diluted with water and carried out constant treatments.
Miner flies
The larvae cause irreparable harm. Female pests lay eggs on foliage. They give birth to larvae 0.2-0.3 cm long. For a couple of days, enemies gnaw passages on the greenery. After that, for 2-3 weeks, insects are on the surface of the foliage in the form of pupae. Females, which are the main carriers of fungal diseases, also bring harm.
Fly Fighting Miners: destruction of eggs with paraffin-containing substances, burning fallen or damaged foliage, spraying with substances with pyrethrum 6 times with intervals of 1 week. Pests adapt to chemicals, so be sure to dig in the fall and spring and use sticky items to trap the pests.
Gooseberry moth
It is a large light butterfly. She lays a huge number of eggs from which caterpillars will appear. It is difficult to save the green mass from them, insects gnaw leaves to the very skeleton. There are more than 10 species of butterfly larvae.
Fight: spraying with these drugs - "Fitoverm", "Actellik", "Karbofos" and "Fufanon".
Willow and acacia scale insects
Scabbards live on almost all berry bushes, they are not averse to feasting on the fruits of trees, some of them are found on indoor flowers. In the spring season, the awakened larvae instantly spread throughout the garden. They begin to suck out the juice, as a result, the plants die.
Scabbard Fight: effectively double spraying of honeysuckle "Rogor" and "Aktellik". The procedure is performed in the middle of summer with a break of two weeks.
Mealybug
It is a sucking insect, the size of one pest reaches 0.5 cm. The worms are covered with a special plaque.
If this enemy attacked the honeysuckle, then the losses will not be leaves or shoots, but whole branches at once. The biggest harm is done by females, they lay about 500 eggs at the beginning of summer. The larvae live in the winter under the bark of plants; they can be found in the cracks of the exfoliated bark.
Mealybug control: shrubs are treated with special means - "Rogor", "Aktellik". Solutions should be 0.2%.
Gall nematode
The pest lives in the ground. The worm reaches a length of 0.3 cm. Gall nematode sucks juice from the root system. As a result, the immunity of honeysuckle decreases. The plant weakens and picks up various fungal diseases. The pest infects the shrub with viral diseases, which are very difficult to cure, and sometimes impossible.
Gall nematode control: it is necessary to process the root system, for this use "Topsin-M" (0.2%). If the gardener notices an ailment in time, clearly follows the instructions for its treatment, then he quickly achieves the desired result.
Why does honeysuckle dry?
Honeysuckle affected by a disease or pest begins to dry out. Often this effect appears due to fungal diseases. Mushroom spores cause individual branches to dry out, the leaves become brown or yellow. Causative agents of ailments are sinking faster and faster into the plant.
The sooner the gardener destroys the affected branch (with a healthy part) and carries out the necessary spraying, the sooner the plant will recover and the green mass will stop drying.
The use of chemicals in the spring is unacceptable, otherwise the fruits will accumulate toxic chemicals.
Honeysuckle is a strong plant, but sometimes the shrub is affected by various diseases and pests. Do not allow this, take preventive measures and treatment of the plant in time, and then the honeysuckle will delight with a bountiful harvest for many years.