Latest Technical Methods and Tutorial for Controlling Pests and Diseases of Pistachio Trees
The pistachio tree is not a native seedling of China; in countries such as Syria, pistachio trees are very commonly planted, and they have also been widely cultivated in places such as Xinjiang. It is an ancient tree species of the arid subtropics. The main diseases include gummosis, leaf spot disease, and root rot, while the main pests include brown scale, small head borer, and weevil. Now let us take a look together at the pest and disease control techniques for pistachio trees!
Pistachio Tree Gummosis
[Damage Characteristics] Gummosis mainly occurs on branches and fruit. On branches with severe gummosis, the bark cracks and becomes covered with gummy masses, causing the tree vigor to weaken until the tree dries up and dies.
[Control Methods] (1) Scrape off the gum in time, clean away the scraped gum thoroughly, and burn it in a centralized manner. After scraping, apply 0.2% methyl violet solution to the diseased spots. (2) Spray lime sulfur mixture before the tree body buds.
Pistachio Tree Leaf Spot Disease
[Damage Characteristics] Leaf spot disease begins every year when the rainy season starts, damaging parts of the leaves and fruit, turning them brown, causing early leaf fall, and affecting the development of pistachio fruit, resulting in severe yield reduction or crop failure.
[Control Methods] (1) Sweep up fallen pistachio leaves, prune off diseased leaves, and burn them in a centralized manner. (2) During the disease period, promptly spray the whole plant with Bordeaux mixture.
⟦NL>Pistachio Tree Root Rot
[Damage Characteristics] Root rot is a root-rotting disease that harms pistachio. In severe cases, it causes pistachio plants to grow weakly until they wither and die.
[Control Methods] (1) Strengthen orchard management and apply more organic fertilizer so that pistachio trees grow robustly, thereby enhancing disease resistance. (2) For diseased trees and surrounding plants that may be infected, use a 300-fold copper sulfate solution to irrigate the roots.
Pistachio Tree Brown Scale
[Damage Characteristics] After overwintering, the nymphs and female adults of brown scale fix themselves on pistachio branches and cause damage. After being damaged, growth and development weaken, causing severe yield reduction.
[Control Methods] (1) Before adult females lay eggs, manually wipe off the female scale covers on the branches with a cloth. (2) Before pistachio buds, spray with lime sulfur mixture.
Pistachio Tree Small Head Borer
[Damage Characteristics] The small head borer causes damage by larvae chewing on leaves. In severe infestations, they can eat all the leaves within 4-5 days.
[Control Methods] (1) Manually dig for pupae: in the pistachio orchard, dig around the tree disk to dig out and collect pupae. (2) Electric light trapping: make use of the adult insect's strong phototaxis by turning on lights to trap and kill adults.
Pistachio Tree Weevil
[Damage Characteristics] Adult weevils overwinter in fallen dead branches and leaves under the tree in winter. When pistachio plants bloom in spring, they gnaw on tender buds and flower clusters, seriously affecting pistachio yield.
[Control Methods] (1) Manual capture and killing: capture before sunrise. The method is to first spread plastic film under the tree, then shake the branches so that they fall, and then capture and kill them. (2) In autumn and winter, deeply turn the tree disk. The method is to turn the surface soil where they lurk at 3-6 cm to below 28 cm, so that they cannot emerge from the soil and are eliminated. (3) When adults emerge from the soil after overwintering, apply poisonous soil within the tree disk. You can use 2% trichlorfon powder, scattering 155 grams of powder per mature tree, and then shallow rake after scattering.