Good afternoon, my name is Ksyusha. My big love is indoor plants. I especially love indoor citrus fruits: why does he go to the supermarket when tangerines, oranges and lemons grow right on your windowsill?
But they are also susceptible to pests and diseases. About them, and about the methods of dealing with misfortunes, I will tell today.
Room lemon belongs to the Citrus tube and to the rue family. The most popular are the following types:
- Genova;
- Pavlovsky;
- Lisbon;
- Novogruzinsky;
- Citrus meyeri;
- Large-fruited Kyiv.
Description of indoor lemon diseases
Indoor lemons can get sick in several cases:
Usually when they are citrus shed their leaves. Sometimes the leaves are shed due to a lack of some trace element. But more often it is the disease that is to blame. It is because of them that indoor lemon can die.
mosaic virus
Leaf mosaic can be identified by strokes on citrus leaves: they can be both densely colored and lighter, but always have the shape of a mosaic. The growth of indoor lemons slows down during illness.
Unfortunately, there is no cure, but the symptoms can be reduced. To do this, you need to care for lemons properly and fertilize abundantly. If you have several indoor lemon ov, the patient, alas, it is better to destroy.
Prevention is to keep aphids away from the plant. Also don't water the lemons. cold water so that their immunity is not weakened.
Cancer of citrus
You can identify it by brownish spots on the peel and leaves. With the development of the disease, the fruits become ugly in shape, and the leaves of the lemon fall off. The plant dies.
There is no cure for citrus cancer. As a preventive measure, you can treat the lemon with a fungicide based on liquid copper.
Tristeza
The virus "loves" lemons that don't get good care and weakened. You can identify it by the loss of leaves, as well as the death of branches and bark. It is impossible to treat tristesis, it will certainly lead to the death of citrus fruits.
Gum treatment of citrus fruits
It can also be called gommosis. Refers to mycoses. All citrus fruits are prone to it, and Phytophthora citrophthora is a common causative agent.
The fungus develops best in a room that is too humid, with damage to the bark, and also with a lack of potassium or phosphorus. It can also provoke gum disease a large number of nitrogen in the ground, diseased soil and too buried trunk.
It can be identified by oblong red-brown spots. The bark under the stain cracks and dies, a sticky liquid of golden color appears on the cracks, which hardens quickly.
For treatment, you need to cut all the spots on the bark. Next, we treat all the wounds with copper sulphate (3% concentration). Cover with garden pitch on top. We repeat this procedure until the spots disappear from the lemon bark. Branches with gommosis must be removed entirely.
Anthracnose
The same applies to mycoses, the causative agents of which are ascomycete fungi (genus Colletotrichum). You can identify it by the yellowing of the leaf plates. Over time, they fall off, followed by the turn of buds. Red spots can be found on the fruits.
To combat anthracnose, all affected twigs, leaf plates and fruits should be removed. Next, you need to spray with Bordeaux mixture. Concentration - 1%.
Scab
The causative agent is marsupial fungi. Most often affects young citrus fruits. First, pale yellow spots appear on the youngest leaf plates.
Over time, they become gray growths. Over time, the growths spread throughout the lemon and destroy it. The fruits themselves are covered with reddish spots. The lemons are falling.
To fight, remove the affected leaves from the lemon and dispose of them. The crown should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture (1%).
Melseco
More common on plantations when the weather long time stays cloudy. Homemade lemons strike from autumn to spring if they do not have enough light. With melseco, the leaves fall, and the lemon itself dries up. Methods of treatment are not yet known. If the disease hit the lemon seriously, you just have to come to terms with the death of the plant.
root rot
A disease can be suspected if citrus shed its leaves abruptly. If you find rotten roots, remove them immediately, and transplant the lemon into another pot with new soil. We move the lemon to the windowsill, where it is light. Watering is not necessary yet, but wipe the leaf plates with a wet rag or sponge. Do not water for about a week.
sooty fungus
Pests
They not only spoil the health and appearance of the lemon, but also carry harmful microorganisms. Therefore, they also need to fight.
Aphid
Two types of it live on indoor lemons:
- Ordinary;
- Root.
You can fight the most different ways. If there is not so much of it, you can simply remove the affected leaf plates and branches. After that, you need to carry out an unscheduled top dressing of the lemon.
Aphid root is transmitted through infected planting materials. Lives underground. To combat it, an infusion of the already mentioned garlic or contact insecticides is also suitable. You also need to transplant the lemon into new soil.
Shchitovki
It settles on citrus as a larva. When growing up, it becomes motionless and overgrown with a wax coating. Usually lives on the lower parts of the veins of leaf plates, but sometimes settles throughout the lemon. Lemon at the same time weakens, dries and becomes ill with infections or viruses.
To fight, you can use insecticides, an infusion of the previously mentioned garlic and a soap solution. It needs 50g per liter of water. After spraying, we wait an hour and wash the indoor lemon. We repeat in a couple of days.
spider mites
Dry air lovers. You can identify it by the web hanging from the twisted leaves. Most often settles on young shoots and leaf plates. You can fight with boric acid (concentration - one percent). It is best to carry out 4 procedures.
Summing up
Indoor lemon is prone to the same diseases as other houseplants and citrus fruits. Diseases are as follows:
- Viral;
- infectious;
- Mycoses.
Lemon Care
The best temperature for overwintering lemon is +15 - 18 ºС with moderate air humidity (Appendix A, Table 3). Under such conditions, the plants grow well, the leaves are preserved, the fruits ripen. Lemons do not tolerate too dry air at humid temperatures, especially seedlings grown in the ground.
Spring is a very responsible period in the care of lemons. At this time, lemons, like all plants, begin to grow, enter the budding stage. The buds develop better and give a useful ovary at a temperature of +14 - 17 ºС.
A tree that has begun to vegetate should be placed in the spring in the most illuminated place, otherwise the shoots will stretch.
In the spring, increase the rate of fertilization and watering.
Tree care in summer consists of proper fertilization, watering and pruning, which ensures the necessary conditions for crown formation and harvest.
best temperature for the growth and ripening of fruits + 19 - 25 ºС. More heat depresses plants.
Pests and diseases of citrus fruits
Pests and diseases of citrus cause great damage to the quality and quantity of the crop. In closed ground, ideal conditions are formed for their existence and reproduction. Therefore, in greenhouse conditions, the control of pests and diseases of lemon is of paramount importance in order to avoid crop loss.
To prevent the appearance of pests and diseases in the greenhouse, preventive measures are constantly taken. From May to August the greenhouse is ventilated natural ventilation. During the year, plants are inspected for the timely detection of pests and disease infestation. All side walls, concrete pillars are smeared lime mortar, glass coatings in the summer are washed with a solution of washing powder or soda ash. We cannot talk about disinfecting the soil by steaming or replacing the soil mixture, since lemons are perennial plantations. Since lemons bear fruit throughout the year, a periodic analysis of the fruits is carried out by the laboratory of Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance. In this regard, generally accepted measures for the control of pests and diseases are not possible in full. Once every six months, the soil is spilled with a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the soil. When transplanting plants - 1% solution.
In the block of the household building there is a special unit for preparing solutions of fertilizers and chemicals. Spraying is carried out with the help of motorized, knapsack sprayers, depending on the scope of work.
In the greenhouse - lemonaria, the following pests are found: spider and red mites, soft false shield, citrus whitefly, aphids, mealybugs.
Such methods of struggle were used that are safe for human life:
1. Fumigation with tobacco dust. Tobacco factory waste in the form of powder Brown are laid out evenly throughout the greenhouse in cans. Then tobacco dust is set on fire and a smoke screen is created. Processing time 4 - 5 hours.
The first information on the treatment of citrus fruits against citrus whiteflies dates back to 1890, when tobacco infusion was used against eggs and larvae. This method is also used in this greenhouse.
2. Washing with soap and soda emulsion. A pre-prepared solution of soap and soda is supplied through the sprinkler system, at the rate of 30 g per 1 liter. water. Sprinkling in each section is carried out for 3-5 minutes.
3. Washing the crowns of trees in the early morning with a jet of cold water.
4. Watering the soil with a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate.
An important measure that ensures healthy growth, normal development and good fruiting of lemons is disease and pest control.
Citrus diseases can be divided into three groups:
Fungal diseases;
Infectious diseases;
Diseases are viral.
Black. The disease is caused by black sooty fungi, which most often develop on sticky sweet secretions, insects (aphids, whiteflies, thrips, scale insects, mealybugs). The disease is not dangerous for the plant, but spoils its appearance: plaque appears on the affected plant organs in the form of dark brown or black spots, similar to powder, because. called "soot". Sooty plaque clogs the stomata on the surface of the leaf blade and thereby complicates the photosynthesis of the plant. The plant weakens, its growth slows down.
Control measures: “soot” is washed off with a wet swab from all leaves, and then the whole plant is washed under a strong warm shower, while not only the remnants of soot deposits are removed, but also insects and their secretions that caused the disease. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to start fighting insects.
Control measures: the affected leaves are removed, the plant is treated with a systemic fungicide, the lemon is not sprayed for several weeks, the volume and frequency of watering are sharply reduced.
Anthracnose. It affects leaves, shoots, branches, sometimes fruits. On the leaves, already at the beginning of the first spring growth, light brown rounded spots appear. In the future, black dots form on the spots on the upper side - fruit-bearing mushrooms. The disease leads to leaf fall and drying of shoots. Various unfavorable conditions contribute to its development: cold winter, excess moisture, lack of nutrition.
Control measures: pruning of affected shoots, collection and destruction of fallen diseased leaves, digging trunk circles and spacing. Spraying with 1% Bordeaux liquid.
powdery mildew . fungal disease, which manifests itself in the form of a white powdery coating on the leaves. As a result, the leaves curl, turn yellow, plant growth slows down. This disease, like anthracnose, rarely affects indoor lemons.
Control measures: the affected leaves should be removed, and the rest should be sprayed with a solution of copper sulphate (5 g of copper sulphate per 1 liter of water).
Gommoz- infection. The disease is characterized by the formation of small cracks in the bark and the outflow of gum from them, especially at the root collar. These cracks gradually expand to the size of wounds, the bark in the affected areas gradually dies off.
As it dries, the bark falls off, exposing the wood. Often the disease spreads higher along the trunk, can move to the root, causing gum disease and the death of the bark. This disease can lead to the death of the tree. Sick trees have yellowish foliage and this differs from healthy ones.
The main causes of gommosis are mechanical damage, frost damage, heavy wet soils, deep planting.
Control measures: elimination of the causes causing gommosis. When gommosis appears, a thorough cleaning of the affected areas to healthy wood is carried out, followed by disinfection.
scab (warty). Affects fruits, leaves, branches. At the beginning of the development of the disease, very small warts appear on the underside of the leaves, flat on top and somewhat depressed in the center, pinkish-yellow, brown or brown. Affected leaves fall off. In the center of the growth of fruiting, mushrooms appear in the form of a plaque.
Control measures: prevention of spraying with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid and the destruction of affected tissues.
Chlorosis non-infectious. The disease manifests itself in the yellowing of the leaves. Plants affected by chlorosis weaken, lag behind in growth and may die. Chlorosis can be caused by a lack of zinc iron in the soil, abnormal water regime, severe prolonged drought.
Control measures: elimination of causes, disease-causing, and the introduction of a complete mineral fertilizer in combination with microfertilizers. When standing high ground water soil drainage is required.
Control measures: effective way there is no cure. To prevent the spread of the disease to other plants, the diseased lemon will have to be destroyed.
From the above brief overview of diseases, one of the treatments for most diseases is to spray affected plants with systemic fungicides.
Fungicides are a group of pesticides that suppress the development of plant pathogens and are used to control them. According to the type of action on the pathogen, fungicides are divided into protective (preventing infection) and therapeutic, causing the death of the pathogen after infection of the plant, and according to the nature of distribution throughout the plant, into contact and systemic. Contact fungicides after spraying remain on the surface of the plant and cause the death of the pathogen when it comes into contact with them. Systemic ones penetrate inside the plant and suppress the development of the pathogen due to direct impact on it, protect the new growth. The spectrum of action of fungicides is different: from drugs that act on pathogens of many diseases, to poisons with an extremely selective effect. For humans, most fungicides have low toxicity, however, the treatment of plants with fungicides should be carried out with the mandatory use of personal protective equipment.
In addition to diseases, pests attack citrus fruits.:
Red citrus mite. An adult red tick, body size 0.3 - 0.4 mm. Damages all citrus fruits. Settling in the mass on the leaves, the pests suck out the juices, first causing the leaves to become whitish, and then yellowing and falling off, which leads to a decrease in yield and general inhibition of the plant. The mite also damages the fruits.
Control measures: sulfur preparations.
brown scale insect. The adult female has a rounded shield with a convex middle, light or reddish brown. Shield diameter 1.5 - 2 mm. Larvae and adult insects settle not on the upper side of the leaves, on the fruits, and sometimes on young shoots. In places of damage, whitish and yellowish spots are observed, merging together during a massive infection with a scale insect. Infected fruits and leaves fall off. Shoots and branches with a strong infection die.
Control measures: spraying during the dormant period of plants with a 2% solution of mineral oil emulsion prepared in soft oil (transformer).
Soft false shield. This is a polyphage that infects citrus fruits and other subtropical and tropical plants. The body of the female is asymmetrical, broadly oval, flat, 3-4 mm long, yellowish-brown in color. Males and shields of their nymphs are little known. Larvae and females settle on leaves, most often on veins, as well as on stems. They cause deformation of leaves and shoots, and sometimes their fall. The female can lay up to 1000 eggs and in greenhouse conditions is able to develop in 6-7 generations.
When growing lemons, agrotechnical measures aimed at preventing the entry of pests into closed ground. Among the biological means of protection, the cryptolemus cow (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Muls.), which is bred by the Lazarev Experimental Plant Protection Station, is especially effective. It is being introduced in the Ufa limonaria. Of the chemicals, Actellik is used, sometimes karbofos and mineral oils with laundry soap.
Mealy citrus bug. Polyphage. One of the most serious pests of citrus fruits. Inhabits young shoots, causes twisting of leaves, passes to fruits, causes their abscission, forms cracks in fruits.
The female is light crimson, covered with white powdery wax, up to 4.5 mm long, 2.5 mm wide. Lives on trunks, branches, leaves and fruits, develops in three generations, fecundity over 600 eggs.
Control measures: the same as for soft false scale insects.
citrus whitefly. Deals great harm citrus. Harm from whiteflies in sucking the juices from the leaves, which causes them to oppress and fall off. Leaves covered with black bloom are deprived of the normal physiological process, which worsens general state plants .
Pest and disease control measures focus on the limited use of chemical methods.
Safe for human life and an environmentally friendly method is biological - the use of insects that eat pests.
Citrus aphid. Sedentary sucking insects, winged and wingless, ranging in size from 1 to 5 mm. The body of the aphid has a very delicate outer cover of a wide variety of colors. It feeds on the juice of the soft tissues of the plant and usually attacks tender leaves, young shoots with succulent tissue, buds and flowers. Insects multiply rapidly.
Control measures: the use of conventional pesticides: thiofol, anabazine sulfate and others in normal concentrations.
thrips. Tiny insects with an elongated body (no more than 1 mm). They have two pairs of membranous wings bordered with long black or brown hairs. Pests lay their eggs in the leaf tissue, the larvae hatch in 8-10 days. Crawling from leaf to leaf, thrips leave behind characteristic silvery streaks. Their reproduction is facilitated by warm and dry air.
Symptoms of infection: flowers become stained and deformed. Numerous light dots first appear on the leaves, then the leaves become discolored and fall off. The growth of the whole plant slows down.
Control measures: the same as for infestation with aphids, mites and scale insects.
Many lemon diseases at home are dangerous, some are completely incurable. And in order not to lose your citrus, you need to know how it can get infected and how it can be saved from trouble.
One or a combination of several of the following factors can lead to the disease.
Captures entire areas of the young green twigs, preferring the most tender shoots
Video about indoor lemon diseases
The fight against it, depending on the number of insect colonies on your citrus, is different. If there are few aphids, it is enough to manually crush them, cutting off the affected areas and fertilizing unscheduled lemon Tree complex top dressing. Insecticides such as diazmnon are used for large numbers of infestations. Spraying with infusion of garlic helps very successfully. To do this, 7-8 heads are cleaned, pounded, infused for a day in a bucket of water, decanted and our product is ready.
From the root aphid, replacing the diseased soil with the subsequent calcination of the infected soil helps. And we dip the plant into a solution of a contact insecticide or, again, an infusion of garlic, only we take the concentration of the latter twice as weakly.
From the root aphid, replacing the diseased soil with the subsequent calcination of the infected soil helps
How to deal with it? Just like with aphids: spraying garlic water, insecticides and soapy water. Take 2 tablespoons liquid soap, dilute in a liter of water and treat the affected areas. After an hour, give the plant good shower washing away the soap from the foliage. We repeat in two or three days.
Spider mites on lemons, like aphids, love young leaves. Its presence is noticeable due to the characteristic web that sticks around the twisted leaves. The tick settles on plants that grow in very dry rooms. He does not tolerate moisture. Therefore, we abundantly spray the diseased citrus with a one percent solution. boric acid. Sometimes a single procedure is enough to kill a tick, but if the enemy does not give up, we repeat spraying after 4-5.
It should also be remembered that protection against insects and ticks contributes to the prevention of viral, infectious diseases, some of which penetrate the tissues with the saliva of aphids or scale insects.
Spider mite on a lemon, like aphids, loves young leaves
citrus infections
We will talk about diseases of a bacterial, fungal and viral nature. Many of them are fairly easy to treat, some are difficult, and many viruses are incurable. The result of the weakening of the lemon with improper care or damage by insect pests often becomes fungal scourge, for example, sooty fungus, it leads to even greater weakening, drying out, and a sharp slowdown in growth.
This misfortune is easily recognized by the plaque in the form of ash on leaves and branches. It is easy to get rid of it - it is enough to wash the tree well under warm shower using a dish sponge. In the meantime, the room where the infected citrus grows should be well ventilated.
Scab is also fungal in nature. It manifests itself as putrefactive lesions of leaves, fruits, branches. The spots darken and soften. Affected foliage and fruits fall off. Its spores are carried by wind or insects. The best way to fight scab is prevention. In the spring, we process the plant with two percent solutions of copper and iron sulphate. If signs of the disease are detected, we remove and destroy all diseased areas. And the lemon itself is treated with a five percent solution of Bordeaux liquid or Strobilin.
Another fungus is wart. The name speaks for itself. Warts appear on the leaves. Destroys annual growth of greens and fruit crops, greatly weakens your citrus fruits. We fight with her as well as with scab.
The best way to fight scab is prevention.
Most often, the answer to the question of why the fruit falls on a lemon is scab or wart.
Infectious diseases are more difficult to treat. The most common among them are gommosis and root rot. Gommosis is expressed in rotting, cracking of the bark of the trunk, gum disease. This greatly weakens the plant, and sometimes leads to the death of the ground part. Two preventive rules are very effective against gommosis:
- We do not deepen the root neck, otherwise the risk of stem rotting increases many times
- Watering the plant warm water- no need for extra stress to the roots.
Root rot is similar to gommosis, however, affecting only the roots. A sign is the wilting of leaves, the drying of entire branches, general weakness, premature leaf fall.
Video about helping a lemon
We fight like this:
- We extract the plant from the pots, clean the roots from the soil
- We sterilize the contaminated soil by calcination, pour a new one into the pots.
- We cut off rotten parts with a sharp knife
- The roots are placed for an hour in a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
- We extract, slightly dry, powder the cut places with wood ash.
- We sit in new ground without deepening the root collar.
- Carefully monitor the plant, fertilize more often.
And viral diseases of indoor lemon are incurable.
Of these, the most common leaf mosaic, expressed as pale cobweb patterns on the foliage, and cancer. Cancer looks like scab or rot, but the fruits and the tree rot as if from the inside, burn out. Such plants must be destroyed before they infect the rest.
Diseases homemade lemon can cause a lot of trouble, and sometimes even lead to the death of the plant if the problem is not treated in time.
Need to know possible diseases indoor lemon to prevent its death
Causes
Lemon diseases can be caused by a number of reasons:
- Weakened immunity, which is caused by improper care.
- Poor quality, unsuitable soil can become fertile ground for the appearance of pests.
- Infection of a houseplant from the street - if you take flowerpots outside in the summer.
- Insects that are carriers of various infections.
- Diseases already carried by the plant can cause new ailments.
Disease symptoms
One of the common diseases of domestic lemons is aphids and scale insects.
The first affects the leaves of the plant or penetrates the soil. Aphids can be transmitted through other plants that are near the lemon. You can bring it into the house yourself with a bouquet of wildflowers. Shchitovka falls on lemon leaves as a larva. The adult is already immobile. It sticks to the stem of the plant or the veins on the leaves.
Often found among citrus fruits such a pest as spider mite. He is able to destroy all the green leaves and lead the lemon to death. Such diseases affect the leaves if the tree is young, weakened, or when special lemon pests appear that affect only it.
The fight against them can be long, but quite successful, if a chemical or home-made preparation is correctly selected for a room lemon. They can also be used for preventive purposes.
In most cases, lemon diseases are associated with a violation in the recommended care. This plant needs a lot of attention. To avoid leaf disease, it is necessary to monitor a stable temperature, sufficient illumination and rational watering.
By maintaining a balance between these three factors, a large number of cosmetic defects of the plant can be prevented, which are not related to a serious disease, but spoil the appearance.
- Yellowed and fallen leaves.
- No fruiting.
- Dropping the formed ovary.
- Drying of branches in winter.
Bacterial diseases are much more difficult to treat. It is recommended to entrust the chores to specialists who will help your plant quickly cope with the disease.
Illnesses not related to nursing
Specialists distinguish between diseases that are inherent in citrus plant varieties. Among them, you can find those that are very difficult to eliminate on your own.
A direct consultation with a specialist is desirable, who can visually look at the affected lemon and advise a suitable drug, they may be Bordeaux mixture, phytosporin, hydrogen peroxide (substances containing alcohol are prohibited), blue vitriol as a fungicide and other drugs.
Lemon diseases:
- The leaves are uneven, punctately pigmented - leaf mosaic. Not to be confused with chlorosis, in which the edges of the light spots are fuzzy.
- Brown or yellow spots, with hardened plaques inside, quickly affecting the entire plant - citrus bacterial canker.
- Two species of aphids are known lemon pests. From the usual green, which is difficult to confuse with another insect, the basal aphid is white in color, and its habitat is in the ground.
- The gradual death of the tree, the leaves are the first to be affected, they dry first, then the entire branch, and the fruits are covered with red-brown generalized spots - "Anthracosis".
Lemon diseases such as tristeza, root rot and melseco can be prevented at home if you provide the tree with a stable place and diffused, bright sunlight from the very beginning.
If the leaves began to turn yellow, first of all you need to remember when the last watering was, measure the temperature in the room, remove drafts (many tropical and subtropical plants they are not tolerated) and consult a specialist if there is not enough experience in recognizing the problem.
Kira Stoletova
In the process of growing indoor lemon, flower growers often encounter its diseases and pests. The affected citrus tree loses decorative look, ceases to bloom, bear fruit and often dies. Knowing the main causes of lemon disease and treating them at home helps to avoid difficulties in growing.
Why is lemon sick
This exotic plant is affected by diseases and pests in the following cases:
- in the process of grafting a diseased cutting;
- improper care: planting in contaminated soil, too frequent or rare watering, insufficient lighting, illiterate pruning or insufficient soil fertilization;
- the plant did not have time to get stronger after the previous disease;
- infection of healthy domestic specimens with street ones;
- the entry of bacteria, viruses and fungi into the room during ventilation;
- making mistakes in the process of reproduction, planting and transplanting.
Classification of diseases
Indoor lemon diseases are divided into 2 groups:
- viral;
- fungal.
For each disease, a specific treatment regimen is used with the use of special drugs.
Viral
Diseases of indoor lemons caused by viruses lead to massive loss of leaves on a tree. After such sores, the plant becomes completely naked, often dies. It is advisable for beginner flower growers to familiarize themselves with their description and methods of struggle.
Mosaic sheet
Dark and light strokes appear on the leaves of the affected specimen, appearance mosaic-like. Over time, they become pale or completely white, lose their shape. Young lemon leaves develop deformed. With a leaf mosaic, the tree stops growing.
If a lemon is sick with this disease, it is placed in quarantine, away from healthy specimens. It is impossible to completely get rid of the leaf mosaic, because on this moment there is no cure for this disease. All you can do is to alleviate the symptoms of its course by providing proper care, and first of all - a balanced and regular top dressing. Severely affected specimens must be destroyed.
Cancer of citrus
This disease appears as brown spots on lemon leaves. It is also characterized by the appearance of brown spots on the fruits. With a long course of the disease, young lemon leaves are deformed and acquire an ugly shape. The fruits shrivel and do not develop. Over time, such an instance dies.
Treatment of this disease of domestic lemons is impossible, therefore, in order to prevent it, they carry out preventive measures: spring treatment with liquid copper fungicides.
Tristeza
The first sign that houseplant tristeza appeared, - mass fall of foliage. Further, the bark and shoots die off, which are covered with brown spots. A specimen infected with tristeza cannot be treated and quickly dies.
Most often, lemons suffer from viral infections under the condition of illiterate care and during a period of weakened immunity.
fungal and infectious
The defeat of lemons by a fungus or infection at home is not uncommon. The reasons are the same as for infection with viral diseases.
Gomoz
The presence of elongated brown spots on the branches and trunk are the first signs of homosis. The bark under such spots quickly dies and begins to crack. In places of cracks, a sticky golden-colored substance is formed, which quickly hardens.
The main reasons for the development of homemade lemon disease are mechanical damage to the bark (fractures, cracks), high humidity indoor air, lack of phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in the soil, an excess of nitrogen, planting in already contaminated soil or too deep deepening of the bole.
It is worth treating a sick specimen in the following way: remove the infected bark on the trunk, cut off severely affected shoots. Treat the places of stripping and pruning with any fungicide of 3% concentration and cover with garden pitch.
The duration of treatment will depend on the degree of damage to the tree. Processing is carried out until brown spots cease to form.
Anthracnose
Of all the diseases, indoor lemons are most often affected by anthracnose. It is determined that this sore appears on the lemon, by the leaves: they fall off en masse. But first, the leaf plate turns white or turns yellow. The flower buds are also falling. The fruits are covered with reddish spots.
Control measures - removal of dead branches and infected leaves. Three times treatment of the affected specimen with Fitosporin. Another option is to treat the tree with a 1% Bordeaux mixture solution.
Scab
They begin to treat the tree by spraying with a 1% Bordeaux mixture. All affected parts on the crown are preliminarily removed.
Melseco
When melseco is infected, the twigs of the tree at the tips begin to dry out, the leaves massively crumble. On cut branches acquire a reddish tint.
The reason is improper care, or rather, lack of light in winter. It makes no sense to fight this disease, because all methods are useless. The only thing that is required is a regular inspection of the tree for symptoms.
Affected specimens must be destroyed.
root rot
Often indoor lemons fall leaves. When 1-2 leaves fall off, you should not worry: this natural process. With massive leaf fall, it is worth digging up a tree and inspecting its root system.
If the roots become dark, moldy and soft to the touch, the tree is affected by root rot. All rotten parts are cut off with a sterile knife or secateurs. Places of cuts are powdered with crushed charcoal. Next, a transplant is carried out in a new flowerpot.
The transplanted lemon is placed in a well-lit place with protection from the scorching sun. Watering is allowed only a week after transplantation to prevent re-rotting of the root system.
Pests
In addition to fungal and viral diseases, there are various pests of indoor lemon.
Shchitovka
Homemade lemon diseases are treated with insecticides or soap solution. For 1 liter of water, 2 tbsp. l. any liquid soap. Process all parts that are bumpy.
After processing, the tree is washed under the shower. After 2-3 days, the treatment procedure is repeated.
Aphid ordinary
With a slight lesion, they cut off the affected parts along with insects. If the aphid has spread to the whole plant, the crown is treated with garlic infusion (4 peeled and chopped heads of garlic are infused in 5 liters of water for a day). Insecticides are also used to treat infected specimens.
Aphid root
To notice how this pest appears is obtained by the appearance of the plant. It becomes lethargic, stops growing, the leaves become drooping and turn yellow.
Such a tree is removed from the pot, its roots are sprayed with a contact insecticide or a weak garlic infusion, and then transplanted into a new container, having previously sterilized the planting soil.
spider mite
Often a spider mite appears on a lemon. These lemon pests appear in conditions of drought and low indoor humidity. They infect young leaves and twigs. The appearance of a small web on a lemon indicates the spread of a tick.
Destroy the tick at home using a four-fold treatment with a 1% solution of boric acid. The interval between treatments is 5 days.
If a lemon infects a spider mite, increase the level of humidity in the room and carry out frequent irrigation procedures of the aerial part.
Preventive measures
To prevent the occurrence of diseases and pests on this exotic plant the gardener is required not only to comply with agrotechnical rules, but also to provide competent care. First of all, such measures should be aimed at increasing the immunity of the plant and its resistance to infection.
It is possible to prevent chlorosis (an imbalance in the distribution of chlorophyll), to activate the growth and development of the plant, by using the following composition in the nutrition of the indoor tree:
- ammonium nitrate - 15 g;
- iron vitriol - 3 g;
- boric acid - 5 g;
- potassium sulfate - 15 g.
The dry mixture is dissolved in 10 liters of water. Lemons are watered with a nutrient solution no more than once every 5 months.
This composition protects indoor citrus fruits from fungal, viral and infectious diseases. It gently stimulates the healthy development of plants.
Conclusion
Although citrus tree susceptible to many diseases and pests, it is not difficult to prevent their appearance. It is only necessary to observe preventive measures, show attention and care in relation to the plant, and then it will thank you with a healthy and decorative look.
