Each of us would like to have a beautiful fir tree on the plot. However, this tree is quite capricious and subject to many diseases. To grow a beautiful, tall, lush spruce, you need to put a lot of effort. The most important thing is the right care. In this article we will consider what can be caused by diseases and ailments of the forest beauty ate.
Did you know? Spruce grows in Sweden, which is over 9550 years old.
Causes of occurrence of diseases, or major errors in the care of spruces
The main diseases of the spruce are caused by fungi, infections or pests. The most common causes of disease of conifers are improper planting, adverse weather conditions and care, the consequences of which we have to face:
- soil with stagnant water;
- high acidity of the soil;
- high density of plantings, resulting in insufficient air flow and reproduction of fungal;
- lack of light;
- high humidity;
- too deep landing;
- lack of or excess fertilizer;
- a strong lowering of temperature leads to the death of young plantings;
- water scarcity is a well-known factor leading to the loss of plantings.
Important! If the planting of spruce is carried out in a quickly drying soil, then the ground around the plant must be mulched.
The main diseases ate and methods of their treatment
Consider what are the diseases of conifers and how their treatment is determined. Spruce diseases are most often caused by fungi and ground pathogens. Among all the diseases that ate has, the tree is most susceptible to schütte, fusarium, ulcerative cancer. Meanwhile, diseases of conifers are not so terrible, so we recognize them and treat them according to the following tips.
Schutte (ordinary)
The lesion is caused by several species of Lophodermium pinastri mushroom. There is a disease in the month of May. If you noticed the browning of the needles ate, this is shyutte. With further development of the disease, the lower part of the needles is covered with shiny black outgrowths of a dotted or dashed character, which increase in size with time. Subsequently, the plant dries and dies. A particularly dangerous disease is for young plants (up to 10 years) and seedlings.
The causes of the spread of fungal diseases of spruce are warm weather and heavy rainfall (dew, drizzling rain).
Real shyutte
The source of this schutte is the Lophodermium seditiosum mushroom. As a result of this disease, needles prematurely fall off in spruce. Saplings in nurseries and weakened young plants are affected. During spring and summer, the needles turn brown and crumble.
In the autumn, small yellow dots appear on the needles, gradually they increase in size and become brown in color. The fungus is stored in the fallen blackened needles.
Did you know? Due to the uniform distribution of fibers in wood, spruce is considered the best tree for making musical instruments.
Brown shutte
The causative agent of brown schutte, or snow mold, is the mushroom Irpotrichia nigra. The disease occurs in several stages: infection with spores of fungi begins in the autumn, the development of the disease occurs in winter under the cover of snow at temperatures above 0.5 ° C. The disease manifests itself in the spring with the descent of snow.
The symptom of the disease is the appearance on the brown necrosis needles of a black-and-gray bloom, similar to a spider's web, and with the passage of time of the point fruit bodies of the fungus. Thin branches of trees die, the needles do not crumble for a long time. Young trees, saplings and self-seedlings are subject to the disease. Increased humidity of the air, dense planting of plants, depressions in the area of growth are the main factors contributing to the ontogenesis of fungi.
Snowy shyutte
The detonator of the snow shütte is the mushroom Phlacidiumin festans, which has got accustomed well in heavily snowed regions. The development of the disease begins under snow at temperatures around 0 ºC. Infection occurs gradually: from needle to needle, and then from tree to tree. With the snow melted, the affected needles and branches become brown and die. Sick trees are covered with gray films of mycelium. 
In summer, the needles change color from red-red to light gray, begin to crumble, but do not crumble. In the autumn black dots appear on the needles. Spores of fungi from these points are carried by air currents to spruce trees that have not yet been affected before the snow falls. Light drizzle, warm snowy winter, prolonged spring, snow fall and melting in the autumn have a positive effect on the spread of mushrooms.
Important! Spores of fungi persist for a long time in dead plants and soil, therefore, when transplanting plants from nurseries, process seedlings carefully.Measures to combat schutte are to select healthy seedlings that are resistant to the disease, pre-thinning and spraying conifer trees with appropriate fungicides, copper-containing and sulfur preparations.
Fusarium (tracheomycous wilt)
Tracheomic wilting refers to viral diseases caused by a soil pathogen. Plant root system is affected: the roots turn brown and begin to rot. Mycelium of the fungus damages the sap flow system, as a result of which the nutrients do not reach the ground part of the plant. 
Due to poor nutrition, the needles become red, then brown color, crumble, and the tree dries out and dies. Coniferous seedlings are susceptible to the disease under wet cold atmospheric conditions. Symptom of the disease is a gray-white coating on the needles. The causative agents of the disease persist in dead plants and spread with seedlings or affected soil.
Fusarium can not be treated, after a few years the plants die. To prevent tracheomycosis, it is necessary to plant healthy seedlings, carefully remove infected parts of plants. With the manifestation of the primary signs of infection, they are treated with biologics or fungicides.
Did you know? In the fall, Christmas trees shed their needles.
Rust
Rust diseases of fir trees occupy a special place among all diseases that conifers are prone to, and their treatment should be aimed at eradicating the mushrooms Pucciniastrum areolatum, Coleosporium, Cronartium ribicola, which also affects deciduous plants. Ate most susceptible to diseases such as rust of the cones and rust of needles.
The rust of the cones is caused by the mushroom Pucciniastrum areolatum. A sign of the disease is the appearance on the inner walls of the cones of round dusty brown etsiopustul. Subsequently, the buds open wide and hang without falling off, the seeds lose their germination, the branches are deformed. 
The cause of rust rust is the mushroom Coleosporium. Fungal disease develops in the spring, hitting the needles. Yellow vesicular etsiopustuly are placed on both sides of the needles. If the plant is severely affected, the needles change their color from green to yellow and fall off.
If rust has appeared on spruce, it must be dealt with, as with other fungal diseases. It is also recommended to cut diseased branches and make microfertilizers.
Necrosis of the cortex
Necrosis of the bark is a fungal disease of the bark of the branches. Symptoms of the disease: darkening and drying of the bark, the formation of growths of brick-colored or dark small bubbles. As a result, the bark becomes dead, and the tree disappears.
Gray rot
A gray rot carrier is the mushroom Botrytis cinerea. The disease affects the terrestrial parts of young plants. The branches are gray, brown or black. Covered with conidia that look like a layer of dust. Plant re-infection continues during growth. 
As a result, trees weaken and lose their appearance. Most often, the disease is common in areas with thick plantings, poor sun and breathability.
Protective measures to prevent gray rot - this is the early removal of affected branches, decontamination of cut sites with a solution of copper sulfate. If you think how to treat conifers for diseases as a preventive measure, Bordeaux mixture “Skor” is a good remedy.
Spleen cancer
Spruce ulcer cancer causes the fungus Lachnellula pini. A sign of infection is the appearance of tar on branches. Over time, depressed dead areas appear in the tarred area, then the crust covers the cracks, and closed or open sores are formed. Thin branches die without the formation of ulcers.
Open sores can be dry and wet. The dry ones look like small cocked corns of brown color. Wet like saucer on a short leg, which can be seen above the bark. The ulcers are covered with brown hairs with an orange, round hymenial layer. Plants affected by cancer, weaken and dry.
The main measure in the fight against cancer is watering under the root of fungicides, processing with copper-containing drugs, timely cleaning of dry branches, processing of cuts with garden pitch. Burning infected branches and needles.
Important! Sick plants and their parts must be removed from the plots.
Diseases ate: disease prevention
You can prevent the diseases of trees and their treatment by conducting preventive measures. Adhere to the rules of proper planting and placement of trees, trim and remove dried and infected shoots and needles from the site in time. Be sure to disinfect stem sections. For planting, use healthy and resistant seedlings.
Diseases mainly affect young, not matured trees. To increase the resistance to infection by sores, microelements are used, complex fertilizers that increase the plant immunity. Remember, the plant should receive moisture moderately. Preventive spraying will help to avoid disease and death of the plant.
