Apple Diseases and Pests

Apple trees are susceptible to a variety of apple diseases and apple pests that can significantly impact their health and fruit production. Here are some common apple diseases and pests along with strategies to combat them:

Fire Blight Disease in Pome Fruit Trees (Erwinia amylovora)

Disease Symptoms

In Apple Flowers:

• Cream-colored milky ooze and color change
• Turning brown or black
• Creamy milky ooze during humid weather and early morning
• Drying of ooze and turning brown

In Apple Shoots:

• Turning brown or black
• Tip curling backward like a shepherd’s crook

On the Trunk:

• Canker formation
• Bark recession and reddish-brown color
• Soft and wet appearance of cankered tissue in early spring
• Brown discoloration under the bark when cut with a knife

Affected Plants:

• Apple
• Pear
• Quince
• Loquat
• Medlar
• Mountain Ash
• Firethorn
• Hawthorn
• Serviceberry

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Use healthy seedlings and buds in nursery production
• Remove and burn severely infected trees
• Regularly monitor the orchard, especially during blooming
• Cut and remove infected flower clusters, shoots, and branches at least 30-40 cm below the infection point
• Disinfect pruning tools with 10% bleach solution after each use
• Apply 10% bleach solution and grafting wax on large cut branches
• Remove bee hives from infected orchards
• Control pests such as aphids and psyllids
• Select resistant varieties and rootstocks (most resistant rootstocks for apples: M7, Novole, Robusta 5)

Chemical Control:

• Apply 1.5% Bordeaux mixture after pruning during the dormant period
• In areas using prediction-warning models:
• Apply approved chemicals within 24 hours if infection risk is announced
• Repeat application if a second warning is issued during blooming
• In areas without prediction-warning models:
• Perform at least three applications with approved chemicals starting from the beginning of blooming at 7-8 day intervals
• Apply chemicals within 24 hours after storms and hail during rapid shoot growth

Crown Gall Disease (Agrobacterium tumefaciens)

Disease Symptoms

Gall at the Root Collar:

• The pathogen forms galls at the root collars of fruit trees and some forest and park trees.
• Galls initially small and cream-colored, enlarging and drying out, becoming dark brown and rough.
• Severe infection results in stunted growth of seedlings and reduced, poor-quality fruit production in mature trees.

Affected Plants:

• Apple, cherry, peach, plum, pear, walnut, sour cherry, quince, mulberry, chestnut, medlar, apricot, etc.
• Poplar, willow, rose, cotton, tobacco, tomato, potato, beet, geranium, etc.

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Avoid establishing nurseries or orchards on heavy, wet soils
• Check soil for infection before setting up nurseries or orchards
• Control soil-borne pests
• Ensure graft compatibility and seal grafting sites with wax
• Remove and destroy infected trees and fill their pits with lime

Chemical Control:

• Apply treatments for crown gall in fruit trees during the summer at one-week intervals
• Clean galls with a knife and treat with 5% copper sulfate solution
• Cover treated areas with vegetable tar before they dry
• Cover the roots and root collars with soil after treatment

Apple Mosaic Virus Disease (Apple Mosaic Ilarvirus)

Disease Description:

• Agent: Apple mosaic virus (ApMV).
• Transmission: Spread mechanically and by grafting, not by pollen or seeds.

Symptoms:

• Light yellow, distinct edge spots, and mosaic patterns on leaves.
• Leaf veins lighten in color.
• Spots may cover all leaves in sensitive varieties and a few leaves in tolerant varieties.
• Spots turn brown over time.
• Sensitive varieties shed mature leaves.

Affected Plants:

• Apple
• P. domestica
• P. triloba
• P. virginiana
• Rubus spp.
• Birch
• Hazelnut
• Hops
• Rose (Other members of the Rosaceae family can also be hosts).

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Establish new orchards with healthy production materials.
• Regularly inspect nurseries and orchards annually.
• Do not use propagation material from infected trees.
• Disinfect pruning tools and other equipment after each use.
• Remove and destroy infected trees.

Other Control Measures:

• Prefer resistant rootstock and varieties.
• Control insect vectors.
• Consult the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for pesticide use.

Note: Apple mosaic virus also significantly affects hazelnuts, causing substantial yield losses.

Apple Chlorotic Leaf Spot Virus (ACLSV)

Disease Description:

• Agent: Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV).
• Particles: Filamentous, non-enveloped, and flexible.
• Transmission: Mechanically and by all production materials except seeds.

Symptoms:

• Apple: Irregularly distributed chlorotic rings on leaves.
• Pear: Ring spots on leaves and pale green spots on fruits.
• Quince: Chlorotic spots, streaks, and bands on leaves; deformations on fruits.
• Cherry: Sunburn-like necrotic spots.
• Plum: Bark peeling on the trunk.
• Peach: Necrotic leaf spots and curl.
• Apricot: Generally rosette leaf formation and graft incompatibility.

Affected Plants:

• Apple, Pear, Quince, Cherry, Sour Cherry, Plum, Peach, Apricot, Lilac, Oak

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Use virus-free production materials.
• Choose resistant varieties.
• Inspect nurseries each growing season and remove infected seedlings.
• Disinfect tools and equipment used during cultural practices.
• Do not take grafts from infected trees.

Note: For detailed information on chemical control, consult the nearest Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

Additional Information:

• ACLSV is a significant disease in apple orchards in Turkey, causing considerable yield losses.
• It is a quarantine pest, and international movement of infected materials is prohibited.

Apple Alternaria Fruit Rot (Alternaria alternata)

Disease Symptoms

On Fruits:

• Causes pre- and post-harvest fruit rot.
• Initially causes discoloration around the apple’s flower end or central area.
• Lesions are dry and turn from brown to black.
• Depressed spots form on the fruit, which are black or brownish, flat, and have distinct edges.
• Rot can penetrate 40-50 mm deep.
• Can weaken the fruit stem.

On Leaves:

• Circular orange spots that darken over time.

Affected Plants:

• Apple
• Pear

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Handpick fruits without bruising.
• Quickly store harvested fruits.
• Maintain proper storage atmosphere and temperature.
• Disinfect picking baskets with chlorine or steam.

Chemical Control:

• First application: At the beginning of fruit coloration (about ¾ fruit size).
• Second application: After the effect period of the first chemical used.

Note: For detailed information on chemical control, consult the nearest Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

Additional Information:

• Alternaria fruit rot is significant in Turkish apple orchards, causing substantial yield losses.
• Maintaining hygiene in apple orchards helps prevent disease spread.

Fruit Mummy Disease (Monilinia laxa)

Disease Symptoms

On Fruits:

• Mainly affects fruits but can also be seen on flowers and leaves.
• Damage usually occurs close to fruit ripening.
• Initial symptoms are one or more brown spots on the fruit skin.
• Brown rings surround the spots.
• Rot rapidly expands, covering more than half of the fruit surface within 1-2 days.
• Rot progresses faster in mature fruits.
• Yellow-buff concentric pustules form on the rotting parts within 1-3 days.
• Infected fruit tissue quickly loses water, shrivels, and mummifies while hanging on the tree.

On Other Organs:

• Flowers: Turn brown and mummify.
• Leaves: Covered with brown spots and dry out.

Affected Plants:

• Cherry
• Sour Cherry
• Apricot
• Plum
• Almond
• Peach
• Apple
• Pear
• Quince
• Fig
• Persimmon

Control Methods

Cultural Measures:

• Collect and destroy mummified fruits and flowers left on the tree and fallen fruits.
• Prune and burn infected branches during pruning.
• Collect and destroy fallen leaves and fruits.
• Thin trees to ensure air circulation.
• Water the soil, not the leaves.

Chemical Control:

• Spray during years when the disease is present, before buds break in spring and 10-15 days before fruit ripening.

Note: For detailed information on chemical control, consult the nearest Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

Additional Information:

• Fruit mummy disease is significant in many Turkish orchards, causing considerable yield losses.
• Monilinia laxa affects apple and pear trees, while Monilinia fructicola affects cherry and plum trees.

Armillaria Root Rot Disease in Fruit Trees (Armillaria mellea)

Disease Symptoms

Agent:

• Caused by a mushroom-producing fungus.

Effect on Trees:

• Causes root rot in forest and fruit trees, leading to tree death.
• Infected trees show reduced shoot formation, yellowing, and leaf drop.
• Shoots and branches begin to die, eventually leading to total tree death.
• Disease progression and tree death take up to 4 years, but severe cases may take only 1-2 years.
• Infected roots show a white layer between bark and wood tissue, starting from secondary roots to the root collar.
• Early stage wood tissue

GOLDEN YELLOWTAIL MOTH (Euproctis chrysorrhoea)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: The wings are completely white with a silk-like shine. Female adults have a large abdomen with a reddish-brown tuft of hair at the end.
• Eggs: Laid in clusters. Mature larvae have black bodies with light brown spots and bumps covered with tufts of long brown hairs.
• Wintering: Larvae spend winter in nests made of silky webs on tree branches and feed on newly emerged leaves.

Damage:

• Spring: Larvae consume newly emerging leaves on buds and branch tips, eventually spreading to the entire tree.

Host Plants:

• Damages numerous species such as cherry, apple, pear, plum, sour cherry, apricot, quince, medlar, almond, oak, hawthorn, wild rose, buckthorn, and elm.

Control Methods:

• Mechanical Control: Remove winter nests from trees with pruning shears and dispose of them away from the garden.
• Chemical Control: Avoid unless necessary; prefer biopreparations. If winter checks reveal over 30% infestation, chemical control in spring may be warranted.

RINGED CATERPILLAR (Malacosoma neustria)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adult Females: Triangular upper wings, milky brown. Males are camel-colored with two transverse reddish-brown stripes on the forewings.
• Eggs: Dirty white, laid in rings on thin branches with a black substance.
• Larvae: Sparse hairs, blue heads.
• Wintering: Eggs; larvae emerge in mid-April.

Damage:

• Spring: Larvae eat buds first, then leaves, potentially defoliating trees in outbreak years.

Host Plants:

• Apple, pear, peach, apricot, oleaster, walnut, hazelnut, elm, willow, vine, poplar.

Control Methods:

• Mechanical Control: Cut and remove egg clusters in winter and larval clusters in spring.
• Biological Control: Enhance the presence of natural enemies; avoid chemical control.
• Chemical Control: If over 30% of trees or 15-20 egg clusters per tree are found in winter checks, chemical control in spring is necessary. Apply once when larvae leave egg clusters.

BUD CATERPILLARS

Leaf Green Caterpillar (Hedya nubiferana):

• Description: Adults have triangular, milky brown forewings. Eggs are dirty white, larvae sparse-haired with blue heads.
• Damage: Larvae feed inside buds and among leaves.
• Host Plants: Apple, quince, medlar, plum, cherry, almond, peach, rosehip, apricot, pear.
• Control: Chemical control when flower buds are visible.

Red Bud Caterpillar (Spilonota ocellana):

• Description: Forewings with dark spots near inner and outer corners. Larvae dark brown-red with shiny black head and thoracic shield.
• Damage: Larvae feed inside buds.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, peach, apricot, oleaster, walnut, hazelnut, elm, willow, vine, poplar.
• Control: Chemical control when flower buds are visible.

Small Bud Moth (Recurvaria nanella):

• Description: Forewings dirty gray with black scales, larvae red-brown.
• Damage: Larvae feed inside buds.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, peach, apricot, oleaster, walnut, hazelnut, elm, willow, vine, poplar.
• Control: Chemical control when flower buds are visible.

BARK BEETLES

Fruit Bark Beetle (Scolytus rugulosus):

• Description: Adults are dark brown or black. Winter is spent as late-stage larvae in galleries under bark.
• Damage: Bore galleries in wood and bark, weakening branches and reducing fruit yield.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach, apricot, quince, hazelnut, chestnut.
• Control Methods:
• Cultural Practices: Keep trees vigorous through pruning, fertilization, irrigation, and soil management.
• Mechanical Control: Remove and destroy infested branches and use trap branches.
• Traps: Alcohol (96%) + Toluene.
• Chemical Control: Apply treatments when adult emergence is observed in spring and summer.

APPLE ERMINE MOTH (Yponomeuta malinellus)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: White forewings with black spots.
• Eggs: Laid in fish scale-like packages, chestnut-colored.
• Larvae: Emerge late March to early April, initially feeding between leaf epidermises.
• Damage: Larvae eat leaves, flower buds, and fruit, potentially defoliating trees by early summer.
• Host Plants: Apple, Japanese apple, rowan.
• Control Methods:
• Mechanical Control: Timely pruning and removal of infested branches.
• Biological Control: Use biopreparations (e.g., B. thuringiensis).
• Chemical Control: Apply treatments early in larval stages.

LEAF MINERS

Apple Leaf Miner (Phyllonorycter gerasimowi) & Apple Leaf Blotch Miner (Stigmella malella):

• Description: Small moths with varying wing patterns, larvae feed within leaf tissue.
• Damage: Larvae create mines in leaves, reducing leaf lifespan and fruit yield.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, cherry, plum, hazelnut.
• Control Methods:
• Cultural Practices: Remove fallen leaves, till soil, peel off dry bark.
• Chemical Control: Apply treatments if average larva count per leaf exceeds threshold.

LEAFROLLERS

Apple Leafroller (Archips rosanus) & Lesser Leafroller (A. xylosteanus):

• Description: Adults vary in color from light olive to brown.
• Damage: Larvae damage buds, new shoots, and flowers, rolling leaves into bundles.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, cherry, quince, apricot, pomegranate, almond, plum, walnut, hazelnut, loquat, citrus, currant, blackberry, raspberry.
• Control Methods:
• Mechanical Control: Destroy egg clusters in early spring, fall, and winter.
• Biotechnical Control: Use bait traps for mass trapping.
• Chemical Control: Treat during the pink bud stage if infestations exceed thresholds.

APHIDS

Apple Green Aphid (Aphis pomi), Apple Gray Aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea), Red Gall Aphids (Dysaphis spp.):

• Description: Small, pear-shaped insects, 1.5–3 mm long, black eggs.
• Damage: Colonies on new shoots cause shoot shortening and leaf curling, affecting fruit size and shape.
• Host Plants: Apple, pear, quince, peach, apricot, almond, plum, cherry, sour cherry.
• Control Methods:
• Cultural Practices: Inspect and prune in winter and early spring.
• Chemical Control: Treat when infestations exceed thresholds during leaf development and before significant fruit set.

Each section provides detailed descriptions, the damage caused, affected plants, and control methods for different pests, ensuring comprehensive pest management strategies.

San Jose Scale Insect (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Females: Wingless, oval, and lemon-yellow covered with a dark scale.
• Males: Winged.
• Scale: Females have round scales; pre-adult males have elongated, oval, and black-grey scales.

Damage:

• Feeding Sites: Trunk, branches, twigs, shoots, fruit, leaves, and buds.
• Toxic Secretions: Releases toxins while feeding.
• Leaf Drop: Causes leaves to fall off older trees.
• Branch Dieback: Branches and twigs start to die.
• Feeding Lesions: Longitudinal red lesions can be seen on the bark of infested branches.
• Fruit Spots: Red spots appear where the insect feeds, reducing market value.

Host Plants:

• Apple, pear, peach, plum, cherry, medlar.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Soil Management and Care: Timely soil management, irrigation, fertilization, pruning, and other cultural measures in infested orchards.
• Pruning and Spraying: Prune before winter spraying; remove pruned branches to prevent larvae from reaching the trees.
• Use of Clean Seedlings: Ensure seedlings are free from infestation when establishing orchards.
• Support Sticks: Do not use sticks from infested trees for healthy ones.
• Border Plants: Treat host plants along orchard borders.

Chemical Control:

• Winter Treatment: Use horticultural oils in heavily infested orchards during tree dormancy, two weeks before bud break. Temperature must be above 5ºC and no rain.
• Early Spring Treatment: Apply during the larval stage until the pink bud stage after buds swell.
• Summer Treatment: Monitor post-bloom and apply when active larvae appear. Consider a second treatment based on the pesticide’s effectiveness, and avoid treating from August onwards.

Fruit Sawflies (Hoplocampa spp.)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: 4–7 mm, reddish-brown with black legs and a black spot on the forewing.
• Larvae: Cream-colored, 10–15 mm when mature.
• Larval Exit Signs: Black residues and an unpleasant odor at the larval exit hole on the fruit.
• Egg Laying: Females lay eggs at the base of unopened or semi-opened flowers, indicated by browning of the epidermis upon egg hatching.

Damage:

• Larval Feeding: Initially targets small fruits, then moves to another fruit’s seed cavity, causing fruit drop.
• Fruit Drop: Can cause up to 100% fruit drop in apples.

Host Plants:

• Pear, apple, plum.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Soil Management: Reduce population by soil management in winter.

Chemical Control:

• Timing: Best applied when eggs start hatching, often during full bloom. Apply when petals are falling to protect bees.

Soil-Dwelling Pests (Polyphylla spp., Melolontha spp., Anoxia spp.)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: 35–40 mm, red-brown with white hair, and fan-shaped antenna tips.
• Larvae: 70–80 mm, plump, yellowish-cream, C-shaped, with sparse yellow hair.

Damage:

• Adults: Feed on the above-ground parts of plants.
• Larvae: Feed on roots, causing significant damage in nurseries and orchards.

Host Plants:

• Apple, pear, plum, cherry, quince, peach.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Care Practices: Proper irrigation and fertilization.
• Fertilization: Mix treated farm manure into the soil.
• Weed Control: Pay attention to weed removal in June and July.
• Soil Management:
• Autumn: Plow to 20–30 cm depth to destroy larvae.
• May: Plow to 15–20 cm depth to destroy pupae.
• July-August: Plow to destroy eggs.
• Adult Collection: Collect and destroy adults at night.

Chemical Control:

• Target: Only treat where larval damage is found.
• Spring Treatment: Apply when soil temperature reaches 9–10°C.
• Autumn Treatment: Apply after first rains when larvae are near the surface. If not treated in spring, treat in autumn if necessary.

Apple Clearwing Moth (Synanthedon myopaeformis)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: Small, dark blue-black, with transparent wings, resembling wasps. Orange band on the abdomen.
• Larvae: 1.5-2 cm, light brown, well-developed mouthparts.

Damage:

• Larvae: Feed on the cambium of trunks and thick branches, slowing tree growth, causing leaf yellowing and drop, fruit quality reduction, and potential tree death.

Host Plants:

• Apple.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Care Practices: Timely irrigation, fertilization, and pruning.

Mechanical Control:

• Larvae Removal: Remove larvae from bark during winter and cover wounds with putty.

Biotechnical Control:

• Molasses Traps: Attract and trap adults using molasses traps, reducing population over two years.

Chemical Control:

• Timing: March or April; treat if more than 5 larvae per tree are found. Timing is based on egg hatching or first adult emergence.

Spider Mites (Acari)

Types:

1. Hawthorn mite (Tetranychus viennensis)
2. Two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae)
3. European red mite (Panonychus ulmi)
4. Brown mite (Bryobia rubrioculus)
5. Flat mite (Cenopalpus pulcher)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Mites: Tiny, hard to see with the naked eye, with varying shapes and sizes of hairs, spines, and bristles on their bodies.

Damage:

• Spider Mites: Feed on leaf sap and release toxins. Severely damaged leaves can turn lead or silver-colored.
• European Red Mite and Brown Mite: Feed on young leaves and flower parts, causing yellowing. Flat mites attack buds, reducing fruit set.

Host Plants:

• Cherry, apple, pear, quince, peach, sour cherry, plum, apricot, almond, and other fruit trees.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Winter or Early Spring: Remove bark to kill overwintering mites. Collect fallen leaves and remove from the orchard. Maintain proper orchard care.

Chemical Control:

• Winter Treatment: Not recommended for spider mites but can affect overwintering European red mite and Brown mite. Monitor mite population and natural enemies, and treat if necessary when mite density exceeds 8–10 per leaf.

Pear Lace Bug (Stephanitis pyri)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Description: Forewings with honeycomb pattern, smoke-colored tips, and center. Overwinters as adults under bark or leaves. Lays eggs under leaf epidermis covered with sticky secretion.

Damage:

• Feeding: Destroys chlorophyll, causing yellowish-white spots on leaves. High density can inhibit growth, prevent shoot maturity, and produce small, low-quality fruit.

Host Plants:

• Apple, pear, quince, plum, cherry, apricot, chestnut, sour cherry, hazelnut, grapevine, medlar, poplar, willow, walnut, elm, plane, and ornamental plants.

Control Methods:

Chemical Control:

• Monitoring: Count in various orchard areas from April, sampling 10 trees with 3 leaves per branch. Treat if an average of 0.5-1 adult per leaf is found.

Fruit Chafer (Epicometis hirta)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Description: 10 mm, black, with dense, long yellow hair and white spots on elytra. Overwinters as larvae or adults in the soil. Feeds mainly on flowers in spring.

Damage:

• Feeding: Damages flowers’ reproductive parts, young leaves, buds, and fruits, reducing fruit set.

Host Plants:

• Polyphagous: Affects citrus, fruit trees, vineyards, cereals, and many other plants.

Control Methods:

Cultural Control:

• Soil Management: Reduces egg, larval, and adult populations through soil management.

Mechanical Control:

• Morning Collection: Shake trees over sheets to collect and destroy adults.

Biotechnical Control:

• Blue Traps: Place blue water-filled basins under trees to trap and destroy adults.

Chemical Control:

• Avoid Chemical Control: Only use as a last resort due to the risk to bees and other pollinators. Monitor and treat when necessary, with the first application when adults emerge and start feeding.

Apple Blossom Weevil (Anthonomus pomorum L.)

Description and Life Cycle:

• Adults: 3.5-6.0 mm, covered with yellowish-grey hairs, blackish-brown to light brown elytra, and a V-shaped mark. Antennae emerge from the middle of the snout.
• Larvae: Legless, curved, white, with brown head capsules.
• Life Cycle: Overwinter as adults under bark or leaves. Feed and lay eggs in flower buds

FRUIT EYE BORERS
Apple Blossom Weevil (Anthonomus pomorum L.)
Description and Habits:

• Adults: They vary in size from 3.5 to 6.0 mm. Their bodies are slender, dense, and covered with yellowish-gray hairs. The color of the upper wings ranges from blackish-brown to light brown. There is a spot shaped like the letter “V” surrounded by two brown bands on the upper wings. Their antennae emerge from the center of the proboscis. Their eggs are white and oval-shaped.
• Larvae: Legless, when mature, they have a curved body and are white in color. Their head capsules are brown.
• Habits: They spend the winter as adults, usually under tree bark and dried leaves. They feed between March and May and lay their eggs on flower buds that are still in the process of pollination. Larvae develop into pupae within 2-4 weeks. They produce one generation per year.
  Damage:
• Larvae feed inside flower buds, preventing them from opening and fruiting. Adult pests also feed on fresh leaves, shoots, and young stems.
  Affected Plants:
• They cause damage to many fruit trees such as apple, pear, medlar, almond, chestnut, quince, walnut, jujube, rose, plum, peach, cherry, apple, quince, firethorn, and mahaleb.
  Control Methods:

1. Mechanical Control:

• From the time the buds begin to burst until flower buds are visible, sheets should be spread under the trees, and the fallen adults and damaged flowers should be collected and destroyed by shaking the branches.

1. Chemical Control:

• Surveys should be conducted in gardens from March onwards at intervals of 7-10 days. If there are an average of 10 damaged flower buds per tree or 30 adults found per 100 strokes, spraying should be done. The most suitable time is during the phenological stage of pink bud. Spraying should stop when flower buds begin to appear. The first week of May is suitable for late spring spraying.
  AMERICAN WHITE BUTTERFLY
  Description and Habits:
• Butterfly: They are white, although some individuals may have black spots on their upper wings. They spend the winter in the pupal stage. Adults emerge in the first weeks of May and lay their eggs on leaves.
• Larva: They are black with orange spots and hairs emerging from these spots.
  Damage:
• Eggs and Larvae: Larvae, emerging from egg clusters, weave webs on the underside of leaves, connecting them to other leaves. They feed only on leaf veins, leaving them bare. They also cause damage by eating ripening fruits.
  Affected Plants:
• It damages many plants such as mulberry, cherry, apple, pear, plum, cherry, hazelnut, walnut, grapevine, and hops.
  Control Methods:

1. Mechanical Control:

• Egg clusters should be collected and destroyed.
• In June and August, larval clusters on infested trees should be cut and destroyed.
• In June and August, corrugated cardboard strips (trap bands) or belts made of straw and grass should be used on infested trees. These bands should be destroyed along with the larvae collected to pupate.

1. Chemical Control:

• Chemical control should start when larvae begin to weave their webs or when eggs hatch. Spraying should be done when any infested trees are detected.
  APPLE SCAB
  Description and Habits:
• Adults: Needle-shaped, yellowish-brown, approximately 0.16-0.18 mm in size. They are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
• Life Cycle: They spend the winter in the adult female stage. Adults emerge in May and lay their eggs on leaves. During the summer months, the population increases rapidly, and they concentrate on the undersides of leaves in August. Adult females withdraw to hibernation sites to spend the winter.
  Damage:
• Leaves: They create a woolly appearance on the underside of leaves, causing irregular distortions in shape. The underside of the leaf becomes dull and pale, may take on a silvery color, and then turn rusty brown.
• Fruits: In some cases, they can cause fruit to rust, reducing its market value.
  Affected Plants:
• They are particularly common in apple trees but can also affect pears.
  Control Methods:

1. Biological Control:

• It is important to preserve natural enemies and increase their effectiveness. Therefore, attention should be paid to the selection of pesticides and the timing of spraying.
• In apple orchards where beneficial mites are found, hanging cut branches from orchards without beneficial mites can increase their population and effectiveness.

1. Chemical Control:

• Chemical control should not be carried out unless necessary.
• Chemical treatments for control should be carried out before and after flowering. Spraying should be done when a certain mite density is reached during counts conducted on leaves in May and August.