APPLE SCAB

What Is Apple Scab?

Apple Scab, also known as Scab Disease, is a fungal disease that can pose a serious threat to ornamental and fruit trees belonging to the rose family. Among the most commonly and severely affected trees are Apple, Pear, Crabapple, Hawthorn, and Mountain Ash. The disease tends to be most severe during periods of cool, damp weather.

The benefits of this “I.V.” or direct injection method as opposed to other less-effective soil injected methods are many:

• No chemical is released into the environment.
• All of the prescribed chemical is delivered to the tree with no waste.
• Adjacent plants will not be affected.
• Beneficial soil microorganisms are left unharmed.
• There is no chemical exposure to pets or children.

How Does Scab Disease Manifest?

The initial signs of Scab Disease are often seen on the upper surface of leaves, where scab lesions or diseased areas tend to appear. Fruits are also highly vulnerable to infection. The lesions on both leaves and fruits have feathery edges and a circular shape, with an olive green to black hue. They can vary in size, from as small as a pinhead to as large as 1/5 inch in diameter. As the disease progresses, the lesions can merge and cover a significant portion of the leaf or fruit surface. Although Apple Scab is not typically fatal to a tree, it can cause extensive defoliation, making the tree more susceptible to other issues.

How Can Scab Disease Be Treated?

If you leave your tree untreated, it could potentially lose up to 80% of its canopy during late summer. This can cause excessive stress on the tree, but fortunately, it is easily preventable with the right treatment.

The treatment involves two steps:

1. The first treatment should be done as soon as the leaves start emerging in the spring.
2. The second treatment needs to be applied when the tree’s flowers begin to drop.

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