What would you do with this apple tree?

[Gryfon]

I've taken a few branches from around the bottom that catch you in the face if you're not careful when you walk by, got rid of most of the crossing branches and so I was just going to take a few of the tall ones in the centre. However I now have photos of everything that's going on here Garden - a set on Flickr and it looks like canker and some sort of red mite thing I think!

It's an old one and the apples are usually good so I'd rather not get rid of it unless it's the only option Thanks

[Capsid]

The red is fungus I reckon and there is some white fluffy stuff I spotted which is woolly aphid. You can spray or pick off the latter. The fungus is hopefully just growing on the branch and not systemic, doesn't look like it. It's an old tree with split bark and damaged areas which I'd be inclined to cut off, but you don't want to overdo it otherwise no fruit this year. Given that it has fruited well in the past indicates to me that it is a healthy tree and I wouldn't worry too much.

[SarzWix]

The general recommendation is to take off no more than a third of the total at a time, unless you absolutely have to. Dead branches don't count, as long as you only cut off the dead bits, not into living wood.

[sarraceniac]

If I've got the right picture then the red is coral spot.

The coral spot fungus, Nectria cinnabarina, is spread by vast numbers of spores which are produced throughout the year. The fungus enters plants through wounds caused by pruning or other damage (frost or storms, for example). By the time the symptoms appear the wood is usually dead. However, coral spot can spread back to living tissue, causing dieback. If it enters the main trunk of susceptible plants they may well die.

Coral spot is usually a weak parasite, and seldom becomes troublesome except on plants suffering from some debilitating condition such as drought stress or root disease, or on newly planted trees or shrubs that are not yet fully established. For this reason, if a plant is badly attacked by coral spot, the possibility of an underlying cause of this nature should be considered.

Prevention

* Prune out all dead shoots and branches.
* Any shoot or branch affected by coral spot should be cut back to clean healthy tissue well below the dead or diseased wood. Use a protective wound dressing (e.g. Medo or Bio Arbrex) on larger wounds.
* Prune only in dry weather.
* Collect any woody plant debris from the garden and remove or burn.
* Mulch trees and shrubs with organic matter especially on light soils, and feed with a complete fertiliser such as fish, blood and bone, or Growmore, to maintain vigour.

[Gryfon]

Thanks all. Shall not take much more off then. I have a feeling I have canker as well which is a pain. Hopefully if I take the apples off as soon as they ripen, chop them up and freeze I should be alright. They don't seem good enough to store which is a shame.

[FB.]

As said; the white stuff is woolly aphid. The split bark is probably canker.
The red spots could be coral spot, or could be the canker.

More often than not, it's the woolly aphid that causes the damage (WAA prefers to attack stems, rather than leaves) and then the fungus enters the wounds caused by the WAA.


It's all a bit of a mess and is difficult to get a sense of the size. It may well not be curable since the only cure is to cut out the affected parts before they get too big.

If it was my tree, I'd just leave it as it is and cut off any branches that die as a result of the canker cutting off the sap flow.

[Gryfon]

I don't think it had had anything doing to it for years, so when we moved in a few years ago and finally had chance to have a look I did take some lower branches off and all the crossed ones I could get to. It keeps shooting up loads of new branches so it's not totally dead yet which is good. This is it last July, the apples then doubled that size and went a deep red which makes me think it's a cooker.

[FB.]

Those apples remind me of "Worcester Pearmain", (which is prone to canker).

[Gryfon]

I've just had a look through apple varieties from that one you said and it ends up more like this:



Which is Rome Beauty and a cooking apple.

[FB.]

What makes you sure that it's a cooker?
When are the apples ready for picking?
How long do they keep after picking?

You'll probably need to go to an apple event to get an expert to identify it, although it may end up being a "one-off" that someone has grown from a pip.

If it was mine and I could watch it's flowering/growth/fruit for a whole season, I could probably identify it.

[FB.]

Try searching the national fruit collection at Brogdale - they have pictures of each variety:
Brogdale - Home of the National Fruit Collection

[Gryfon]

The apples end up huge, bigger than my fist some of them. The flesh is quite floury (think that's right), doesn't taste too good to eat raw which is why I cook with them, a bit dry if I remember right. Don't last too long once picked either.