Apple(Malus domestica Borkh); Rosaceae
- Jammu and Kashmir : Golden Delicious (Late Season), Lal Ambri, Mollies Delicious, Starkrimson, Red June, Irish Peach, Benoni and Tydeman’s Early
- Himachal Pradesh : Golden Delicious (Late Season), Red Delicious (Mid season), McIntosh
- Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh : McIntosh, Chaubattia Anupam
- Tamil Nadu : Irish Peach and Zouches Pipin (Early); KKL 1, Carrington and Winterstein (Mid -season); Rome Beauty and Parlin’s Beauty (late)
Irish Peach and Zouches Pipin.Yield: April – May
Carrington and Winterstein.
Yield: June – July
Rome Beauty, Parlin‘s Beauty and KKL 1.
Yield: August – September.
Soil –
- Red lateritic soils with good drainage and high organic matter are more suitable.
- The soil pH should be around 5.8 to 6.2.
- Liming is essential to correct the pH of acidic soil.
- A minimum depth of 1.6 metre is desirable and can be grown from 1200 to 2000 m MSL.
Climate –
- Most of commercial apple tree varieties thrive in cold and wet climate, where a cold winter is followed by cool spring and summer.
- Abundant sunlight is necessary, as it significantly affects the color of the fruit.
- Generally, the apple tree has greater needs in cold than most of other deciduous fruit trees.
One year old grafts on M.778 and M.779 rootstocks during June – July.
June to December.
4 x 4 m in pits of 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm.
Water the plants till establishment
Apply FYM 25 kg. N 500 g and 1 kg in each of P and K per bearing tree.
- The tree is trained to open center system.
- Prune the tree every year during the month of December – January.
1.Scab : Venturia inaequalis
Symptoms
- Symptom appears on leaves and fruits.
- On lower side of the leaf lesion appear as olivaceous spots which turn dark brown to black and become velvety.
- On young foliage, the spots have a radiating appearance with a feathery edge.
- On older leaves the lesions are more definite in outline.
Management
- Clean cultivation, collection and destruction of fallen leaves and pruned materials in winter to prevent the sexual cycle.
- Spray Tridemorph 0.1% before flowering.
- Spray Mancozeb 0.25 % at bearing stage.
- Spray 5 % urea prior to leaf fall in autumn and 2 % before bud break to hasten the decomposition of leaves.
S.No | Tree stage | Fungicide/100 lit |
1 | Silver tip to given tip | Captafol 200 gm (or) Captan 300 g or Mancozeb 400 g |
2 | Pink bud or 15 days after 1 st spray | Captan 250 g or Mancozeb 300 g |
3 | Petal fall | Carbendazim 50 g |
4 | 10 days later | Captan 200 g.or Mancozeb 300g |
5 | 14 days after fruit set | Captofol 150 g |
- Add stickers – teepol or triton 6 ml/10 lit of spray fluid.
2.Powdery mildew: Podosphaera leucotricha
Symptom
- Small patches of white powdery growth appear on upper side of leaves.
- In severe case the symptom appear on both the sides.
- Twigs are also infected. Affected leaves fall off in severe infection.
- Fruit buds are also affected and deformed or remain small.
Management
- Spray Dinocap 0.05% or Chinomethionate 0.1%
3.Fire blight: Erwinia amylovora
Symptom
- The initial symptom usually occurs on leaves, which become water soaked, then shrivel turn brownish to black in colour and fall or remain hanging in tree.
- The symptom spread to twigs. Terminal twigs wilt from tip to downward and also spread to branches.
- Fruits becomes water soaked, turns brown, shrivels and finally becomes black.
- Oozing may be seen in the affected area.
Management
- Removal and destruction of affected parts.
- Removal of blighted twigs
- Spray with Streptomycin 500 ppm
4.Soft rot: Penicillium expansum
Symptom
- Young spots starts from stem end of the fruit as light brown watery rot.
- As the fruit ripens area of the rotting increases
- Skin becomes wrinkled.
- A peculiar musty odour is emitted
- Under humid condition a bluish green sporulating growth appears.
- Infection take place by wounds in the skin caused by insects and during handing in storage and transport
Management
- Careful handling of fruits without causing any wounds.
- Dipping the fruits aureofunginsol @ 500 ppm for 20 min gives best control
5.Bitter rot : Glomerella cingulata
Symptom
- Faint, light brown discolouration beneath the skin develops. The discolouration expands in a cone shape. The circular, rough lesions become depressed. The lesions increased and covers entire areas of fruits.
- Diny black dots appear beneath the cuticle which gives rise to acervuli
- Pink masses of spores are found arranged in defined rings.
Management
- Spray Mancozeb 0.25 % in field.
- Treatment with Mancozeb 0.25 % to check the disease in storage
1.Wooly aphids – Eriosoma lanigerum
Symptoms of damage:
- Nymphs and adults suck the juice from bark of the trunk or fruits
- Weakening and death of the smaller plants
- Infested twigs shrivel and die
- Galls on the roots
- White, woolly patches on the trunk.
- Management-
- The rootstocks resistant to wooly aphis viz., M 778, 799, MM 104, MM 110, MM 112, MM 113, MM 114 and MM 115 can be used.
- The parasite Aphelinus mali and the Coccinellid Predators should be conserved in the field.
- Apply carbofuran 3 % G @ 166 g/tree or phorate 10 % G @ 100 g/tree or spray any one of the following insecticide
| Insecticide | Dose |
| Chlorpyrifos 20%EC | 2.5 ml/lit. |
| Malathion 50%EC | 1.0 ml/lit. |
| Oxydemeton –Methyl 25% EC | 1.0 ml/lit. |
| Quinalphos 25%EC | 2.0 ml/lit. |
2.San Jose scale: Quadraspidiotus perniciosus
Symptoms of damage:
Management:
3.Codling moth : Cydia (=Carpocapsa) pomonella
|
4.Cottony cushion scale: Icerya purchasi
Symptoms of damage:
Management :
5.Stem borer: Apriona cinera
|
10 – 20 kg / tree / year. The tree starts bearing from 4th year of planting.
