Crepe Myrtle Diseases Pictures – Treatment and More

Crepe Myrtle Diseases Pictures

Crepe Myrtle Diseases Pictures: Small trees like crape myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) are generally trouble-free. Powdery mildew.

Cercosporin leaf spot, aphids, Japanese beetles, and sooty mold are among the most prevalent issues. In HGIC 1008,

Crape Myrtle, and HGIC 1009, Crape Myrtle Pruning, you can find further details about cultivating crape myrtles successfully.

Powdery Mildew

• One of the most prevalent issues with crape myrtles is powdery mildew, which is brought on by the fungus Erysiphe Lagerstroemia.
• On the surfaces of the leaves, flowers, and young shoots, patches of white to greyish powdery development can be seen. Severely diseased flowers might not open. The plant’s infected areas swell and become stunted.
• The illness is complex in moist, shaded areas, especially if air circulation is poor and many plants are present.
• High nighttime humidity and mild, dry daytime temperatures frequently exist in the spring and fall. Which are favorable for fungus development.

Prevention and Treatment

• The best preventative strategies involve placing plants in full sunlight, removing sprouts from the plant’s base, and using resistant cultivars.
• Crape myrtle varieties that are vulnerable need to be avoided. If only a few shoots are affected, it might be possible to remove sick twigs and branches.
• For example soon as they appear. Get rid of the suckers (sprouts) near the base of the plant since powdery mildew loves them.
• Once these sprouts are infected, the fungus spreads quickly to the plant’s top parts.
• Varieties resistant to plants. A single variety’s level of resistance to powdery mildew may differ from one place to another and may rely on certain environmental factors.
• The powdery mildew is not a problem for the hybrids of Lagerstroemia indica and Fauriei that were created at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

Cercospora Leaf Spot

• The fungus Cercospora species can create Cercospora lythracearum leaf spots, which can appear on crape myrtles.
• Typically, this illness strikes during hot, humid conditions.
• The upper leaf surface develops yellow patches between 1/8 and 1/4 inch in diameter, and the bottom leaf surface develops white-grey sporulation of the fungus.
• In vulnerable cultivars. The disease can almost entirely defoliate the plant in the late summer and early fall.

Prevention & Treatment

When making fresh plantings, use resistant types. In field tests, the cultivars “Fantasy,” “Tonto,” “Tuscarora,” “Tuskegee,” and “Velma’s Royal Delight” showed resistance to Cercospora leaf spot.

• The degree of resistance may differ from region to region and may be influenced by certain environmental factors.
• Avoid overcrowding plants and provide proper air circulation.
• Thiophanate-methyl or myclobutanil. Used to treat powdery mildew, will control Cercospora leaf if the disease is severe enough to require chemical treatment.
• Apply all chemicals following the label’s instructions.

Crepe Myrtle Blight Treatment

Crepe myrtle blight can be treating with the proper maintenance and cultivation techniques.

• Like many other fungal diseases. Crepe myrtle tip blight can be preventing by adhering to a few straightforward tree-care guidelines.
• To bloom and flourish, crepe myrtle trees require regular irrigation. They don’t require overhead irrigation, though. The foliage is moistening by overhearing irrigation. Which promotes the growth of the fungus.
• Encourage air circulation around the plants as another effective means of prevention as part of crepe myrtle blight therapy.
• To help the crepe myrtles breathe, remove any branches that cross each other and those that grow into the tree’s trunk.
• Remember to disinfect your pruning tool by submerging it in bleach. It prevents the fungus from spreading.

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