Last updated on June 8th, 2022
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Quince leaf blight is a fungal disease that can actually prove to be quite disastrous to Quince trees. It will affect trees most heavily when the weather has been wet and damp and results in severe leaf spotting, eventually, your leaves will fall off, and the fruit can be spotted and distorted too.
These trees are often affected by this disease, especially if you experience wet summers where you live, which in the UK is quite hard to avoid. You can try to reduce the severity of it by pruning out dead and diseased growth in winter and clearing up any fallen leaves, especially in autumn because the spores live in the leaves during the winter and then return in spring, so breaking the cycle can help.
Learn how to prune quince trees by reading our informative guide here.
Symptoms to look out for
You can keep your eyes peeled for a handful of potential symptoms including the appearance of small, dark spots on your leaves that usually have a grey centre.
You might see numerous spots on a single leaf that eventually become a large spot. These spots cause the leaf to turn brown or yellow and fall off prematurely. The shoot tips will die back if they are infected and the fruit can also be spotted and discoloured.
How to control quince leaf blight
If quince leaf blight is a problem in your garden there are non-chemical and chemical control options available to you. The problem is the non-chemical methods aren’t 100% effective and the fungicides you can use to control the disease cannot be used on quince trees that you collect and use the fruit from. If you have it as an ornamental tree then fungicides are a good option for controlling it.
Non-chemical control methods
The non-chemical control options include removing any affected leaves as soon as they fall and removing them from the tree when you see them. You want to prune away any dead shoots as well.
It’s important that you gather every leaf, including those that fall to the ground, otherwise, the fungal infection can go dormant during the winter and become a problem all over again the following spring.
Treating with fungicides
Chemical control methods include spraying your quince trees with a fungicide known to treat leaf spot diseases. Unfortunately, there are no fungicides currently available for trees that you are growing to produce fruit that you will eat and use because they are only suitable for use on ornamental trees.
Basically, if you’re going to eat the fruit from your tree, there are no fungicides you can use to control the issue. However, if you are not going to eat the fruit from the tree, you can use fungicides labelled for ornamental plants. But again if you do this, it is imperative that you do not eat the fruit.
Unfortunately, the best control for this fungus is the same as any other fungus and that is to make sure that your tree has good growing conditions from the onset with the right soil.
This means planting your quince tree in a sheltered position in moist but free-draining soil, and feeding in spring with growmore and mulching around the base of the trees. Keep well-watered during dry spells and hot summers.
Last update on 2024-04-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
