Apple Disease Pictures (Canker/Mildew/Scab/WAA)

[pdblake]

I think I might have a go at that. I don't mind if I get a crab apple to be honest, they can always go in the chutney

[StephenH]

So now I know what my tree's got: wooly aphid. Thanks.
Next question - how do zap them organically?

[FB.]

Intersting, thanks. I notice you have some seedlings there. Just how do you go about growing them?

The pips need to be separated from the core of the apple and then chilled below 7'C (a 4'C household fridge will do) for about a month. Separating form the core before chilling tends to improve germination.
Then plant into pots and wait for the seeds to sprout.

The seedlings will be very variable in their features - size, shape, disease resistance etc. They will usually take years to reach cropping age and may grow considerably larger than grafted apple trees.

Many supermarket apples can grow their pips with no chilling needed, since they will have been stored for months in a cold store. But extra chilling would still be helpful for better germination.

Seedlings will have an unknown father, which could easily be a crab apple pollinator - as used in many commercial orchards. Such parentage could seriously spoil your chances of a good sized and nice tasting apple from a pip.

I grow my pips for grafting experiments and rootstocks - not in the hope of finding a great new variety. I am working on a couple of projects (I'll spare you the boring details), due to the very difficult fruit-growing conditions in my area (difficult if you don't spray and don't irrigate).

At some point in the future, I plan to start making careful crosses of my old-fashioned, tasty and disease-resistant apples.
I will know both parents and I will have an idea of what features many of the offspring will have; "offspring tend to resemble their parents" - said one great genetics scientist.

[pdblake]

Intersting, thanks. I notice you have some seedlings there. Just how do you go about growing them?

[BFG]

Thanks. Very useful.

[FB.]

For anyone who is interested, here are some pictures taken in recent weeks, from my own apples. The disease should be near the centre of each picture, to make it easy to see.

More and better pictures are avilable further down the topic.......




Canker (note sunken, red-ish bark):




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Powdery Mildew (some apple seedlings - note the white powdery coating, curling/deformation of leaves and gradual death of the leaf - the brown edges)






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Scab (small-medium brown-black spots on leaves/fruit that merge in wet weather):




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WAA <woolly apple aphid> (clumps of cotton-wool-like material on branches/stems/pruning cuts resemble moulds but actually contain aphids):