Hi I have a 5 year old apple tree, (there are about 20 apples on it right now) At first glance I thought it was suffering from rust, but a closer look revealed rust-colored spots on the leaves where something has punctured the leaf right through the center and there are "bristles" (legs?) on the undersides of the leaves. What is this and what can I do to get rid of it? The fruit is untouched. If there is a place to post picture I will. Thanks
Barbara
Hi Barbara, Do you ever spray your trees with fungicides and insecticides?
Sherw> Hi
Cedar-apple rust is possible: "In late spring or early summer, clusters of small orange-yellow, tubular fruiting bodies (aecia) project downward from these lower surface spots."
Any junipers in the area with strange growths?
To be more specific, there are many trees in the 'Juniperous' genus, including Red Cedar. I pulled out two Red Cedars which developed ugly growth and also induced spots on neighboring apple trees. Some apple trees, like Jonathan and Red Delicious are very susceptible to Apple Cedar Rust, while Pricilla is highly resistant to it. However, in my experience, the rust problem was not accompanied by any puncturing, bristles, etc. Actually, Red Cedars are not Cedars, but belong to the Juniperous genus. The disease should rightly be called 'Apple Juniperous Rust'.
If you have not done so already, pull out any 'Juniperous' trees nearby and/or start on a regular spray schedule (a general home orchard spray would be a good start).
Sherw> Barbara said:
I believe you are correct. I tried to do a search on the web for apple diseases before I read your post. Indeed I have 5 junipers about 50-60 ft. from the tree, I haven't checked them for galls yet. Also, the apple is Jonathan, a susceptible variety. The junipers are well established and way too big to pull out, would spraying the junipers and the apple tree be sufficient to control/get rid of the disease? Thanks
Barbara
I think you are going to have to consider spraying. Maybe think about planting a replacement apple that's more resistant. Pruning out any galls on the junipers before they mature and produce spores would probably be beneficial.
This page has some of the best pictures of the different phases of the fungus life cycle that I've seen so far (including the growths on the bottom of the leaves), as well as lists of resistant varieties and fungicides.
If you have Cedar Apple Rust, the best chemicals are Zineb or Ferban, both of which are very difficult to find. I pulled out two Red Cedars near my trees, but I had additional problems with them, like hard to keep attractive, prune, etc. As I mentioned earlier, on this board on my message of July 22, 2004. There I stated that Red Cedar's belong to the same family (Juniperous), as Junipers ( they are not true Cedars), so someone obviously miss-named the disease. Even with Zineb and pruning out the growths on the Red Cedars, the problem persisted. Unless you have a great attachment to the Junipers, pull them out. My preferences are for apple trees over ornamental trees, but you may think otherwise.
Sherw> I believe you are correct. I tried to do a search on the web for apple
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