When it comes to caring for your trees, one of the issues you’ll have to deal with is leaf spot. This bacterial or fungal infection causes unwanted brown spotting on leaves. It may also come with reddish or yellow hallo, which often spreads rapidly from one leaf to the next or even tree to tree.
In this blog post, Brandon’s reliable tree service company will show you how to treat leaf spot disease and restore your tree’s health.
What Causes Leaf Spot Disease?
Various factors can promote leaf spot disease. The major culprit stems from consistently high humidity levels coupled with poor air circulation. Also, if you often splash water onto your plants’ leaves during watering, they may develop leaf spot disease.
This disease may also result from temperature fluctuations. It pays to keep your space at consistent, comfortable temperatures. If you don’t address the problem quickly enough, you’ll create an excellent breeding ground for harmful fungi and bacteria.
How can you detect leaf spot disease on your tree?
If your tree has an infection, you’ll often first notice a collection of small brown spots. These may end up merging together to create a larger browning spot. They can also harden into tiny, reddish-brown spots spread across the leaf.
What’s more, you may notice holes developing within the discolored area since the infection eats away at the leaf tissue.
Different Types of Leaf Spot Diseases
The first step in managing leaf spot disease begins by understanding the type affecting your tree. This disease occurs in many forms, but they have similar biology. That means their management and treatment options are also similar.
The types of leaf spot diseases that will often plague your backyard trees include:
- Blight. This disease entails a progressive dieback of young, green shoots. The pathogens that cause this problem usually don’t compromise the well-being of older woodier branches.
- Canker. These infections of branches and shoots begin as round to oval discolored spots where the bark has died.
- Leaf rusts. If you notice bright yellow, red, or orange leaf spots, you’re most likely dealing with leaf rust.
- Downy mildews. These infections usually first appear as light green spots on the upper side of your tree’s leaves, which turn brown over time.
Leaf Spot Disease Treatment
If you want to know how to treat leaf spot disease, and manage other issues like pests on fruit trees, we’ve listed some easy-to-follow tips below to get you started:
- Prune and eliminate severely affected leaves. You may not have to do this if you only see only one or two spots.
- Regularly apply neem oil or other fungicide treatments to the foliage.
- Ensure the leaves don’t come into contact with water during recovery.
- If possible, keep the affected plant away from others temporarily.
- Performing a soil test and ensuring good air circulation can also help keep your plants healthy.
Contact Your Local Tree Experts for Assistance
If you need more information on how to treat leaf spot disease, Barone’s Tree Pros is the go-to local arborist. Call us at 601-345-8090 for a free estimate or to schedule a tree inspection service in Brandon, MS, today!