In every garden, trunk and skeletal branches of fruit trees are damaged. What causes wounds, various cracks in the trees? There are many reasons. This can happen when pruning, and in winter from frost or from sunburn. Even in our warmer climes, frost holes on fruit trees are common. Apparently because even in winter the sun can greatly heat the dark bark of a tree after night frost. And if a change in temperature - from low to high - is quite common, there is no shadow from the foliage, then the bark does not stand up - it cracks.
One interesting fact. In one of the Ukrainian research institutes, special sensors were installed on fruit trees to measure the temperature of the bark. On a sunny day in winter during the test, the air temperature was -15 ° C. And the bark of the tree at the same time from the sunny side was + 20 ° С.
What processes occur at this time in the tree? The tree sap under the bark heats up, liquefies in the sun, and freezes after sunset. Ice, as you know, always occupies a larger volume than liquid and the solid bark of a tree does not withstand such loads - cracks appear.
What other problems can trees have in the garden in winter? These are sunburns. Take a closer look at the trunks, branches of your trees. If you see brown, reddish, brown spots on the fruit tree, then this is sunburn.
The process of burns is like this. Bark cells of any tree have chlorophyll in their composition. In the bright sun, in the absence of leaves, the process of photosynthesis in the cortex, though not so intense, is ongoing. In the process of photosynthesis, plastic substances are synthesized in the cortex, for example, polysaccharides and a large complex of others. A tree is being built from them - new branches, leaves, fruits are growing. And in winter there are no growth points, the tree is at rest and has nowhere to spend these plastic substances. Another thing is that these substances are quite active - there is a process of photooxidation, that is, under the influence of sunlight they change their structure. The energy that accumulates during the oxidation process has nowhere to go for the tree. Hence spots, but this is not just a cosmetic flaw - it is damage to the cortex, which can give impetus to the development of various diseases.
Damage to the cortex from sunburn should be treated. But more on that later.
What other damage to the bark of garden trees can be seen? Animals can cause great harm to our gardens. For example, hares, mice. Mostly young trees are very affected by these pests. Ring damage to the bark by rodents is dangerous for trees when the supply of nutrients to branches and buds completely stops. The tree may die.
What else could happen? Windbreak. From strong winds, from the sticking of wet snow in winter, and in summer - from a plentiful harvest, tree branches break.
Why am I focusing your attention on the wounds, cracks of fruit trees? Because they are the gateway to infection. If the crack is left untreated, then bacteria, microbes, viruses, fungi from the air, falling on exposed wood, begin to feed on it and multiply. I think that not only I saw how the untreated wound darkens in time, becomes rotten, rots. Over time, deeper lesions, hollows form on the tree.
What is the conclusion of the foregoing? Cracks in a tree need to be healed! Damaged wood ceases to fulfill its main function - the transportation of juices with nutrients to branches, kidneys, fruits.
How to treat tree damage?
The first thing that I recall from childhood is putty made of clay and mullein. A good tool, but in our time it has a number of disadvantages.
The first - it is not always possible to immediately get a mullein. People keep cows on private farms less and less. And to get clay is a problem.
The second drawback is that the cooking process is not very pleasant not only for our nose.
The third - the fragility of the putty - it can be washed off by the first rain. You can, of course, bandage the coated place, but this increases the processing time - again, an extra hassle.
The biggest minus, which is especially important for the south, is that clay is an excellent adsorbent. Dry clay putty in the dry hot season begins to absorb moisture from the bark of the tree. And this means that the juices are not used to develop the plant, but to wet the clay putty - they simply evaporate through the wound. There is, of course, a way out of this situation - periodically watering in the heat, wetting the clay dressing with water - but this is also not just in view of our employment.
The first thing you need to do if you notice cracks in the tree - clean it to healthy tissues - green sections of the bark and a clean wood fabric should remain. If this is a broken branch, then it must be cut with a sharp pruner or sawed with a hacksaw to even out the surface of the cut from irregularities. Scrape off the dead or damaged bark with a metal brush or cut it off with a sharp knife. Do not be afraid to harm the tree with such a sweep. If you leave rotting or rotten tissues in the crack, there will be much more harm. After glossing over, these dead, diseased tissues with germs, viruses, bacteria or spores of pathogenic fungi will continue to exist. The tree will not receive help from such a poorly performed procedure.
You can clean a crack or wound on an affected tree at any time, except for the growing season (March-April). Because during the sap flow, the disease can spread through the vessels of the tree. After stripping, let the wound dry.
Then treat the crack with copper-based agents, for example, 1% or 3% Bordeaux fluid or any antifungal drug. It can be treated with a 3% solution of iron sulfate. Wait until the exposed tissue of the tree has completely dried and only after that treat the wound with special putties.
There are not many, but there is a choice.
Firstly, these are garden vars of various manufacturers.
But recently, I have met many reviews about the negative effect of vars on the health of the tree. So, for example, at one of the forums I read such a review about a garden practitioner’s garden var: “By the nature of my work, I very often meet with necrosis and cancerous wounds that occur on the site of a wound smeared with garden var, even several years later. Var loses its antiseptic ability after a year, and then more harm than good from it - it gets wet and constantly creates an ideal environment for fungal infections. ”
Therefore, decide for yourself whether to use this or that garden var or not. When buying a garden vara, pay attention to the composition. The presence of mineral components such as kerosene and gasoline is undesirable. I think that it is these ingredients that cause negative reviews. But natural wax, coniferous resins, vegetable oils, protective volatile products are an excellent base for garden varieties.
The last time I worked on small saw cuts of apple tree branches, apricots, cherries and light mechanical damage on the seedlings by August garden varieties, I didn’t notice negative moments.
On sale met means with the general name of artificial bark. They are sold in stores for gardeners. This, for example, Lac Balsam Etisso (lac-balsam artificial bark) of German manufacturers.
It forms a dense, waterproof, elastic coating on the surface of the crack; it has the consistency of a thick varnish of light gray color. Seals wounds well. They do not get wet and do not grow moldy. The only limitation is to apply in dry weather and after that there should not be rain and frost.
In general, if you are interested in the question of how and with what to treat wounds or cracks in trees, you will find hundreds of recipes for various putties on rosin, grease, petroleum jelly, wax, turpentine in scientific, popular literature, the Internet, and simply amateur gardeners etc.
There is one person well-known in certain circles - candidate of biological sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Horticulture of the UAAS, Groholsky Vladimir Vasilievich. It was he who, collecting various recipes of garden varieties for the treatment of wounds of fruit trees, tested them in practice. The conclusion that he made after years of testing is that none of the proven garden varieties is an effective tool for healing wounds of fruit trees. Some of them may give the effect of preserving the wound, but this is not a cure. There are those that, on the contrary, harm trees. In addition, the practitioner came to the conclusion that none of the refined products is suitable as a basis for preparing a garden var, that is, they are not compatible with a living tree cell.
Based on practical experiments, Grokholsky V.V. Found such a remedy for the basis of garden putty. This lanolin is a fatty product (extracted from sheared sheep wool), which is used in cosmetology, pharmaceuticals in the manufacture of creams, ointments, and the basis for medicines. Practical experiments have shown that a tree, a living cell, respond perfectly to lanolin.
Over time, the scientist picked up substances that, when added to a lanolin base in a certain proportion, stimulate the development and renewal of tree cells, help the wound heal faster. Plus, they inhibit the growth of harmful disease cells.
Thus, a garden putty “Blagosad” was developed, which helps to heal wounds on a tree and speeds up the healing process every two times.
If you manage to acquire it, then, for sure, you will see for yourself its effectiveness. It is very economical and perfectly not only preserves wounds on trees, but heals them.