Rusty Hawthorn
Not a person but a question on rust fungus on a Hawthorn . I was asked what to do about it during a Old World chat and did n’t have the time to answer it fully . I believe the way of life the question was phrased that the individual was asking “ what can I spray to get rid of the rust” . Let ’s look at it using the IPM determination - constitute Process .
Let ’s do a little desktop first . Hawthorns ( Crataegus spp . ) are small trees or big shrub in the rose class , rising to about 20′ to 30′ at maturity . They are often multi - stem and are aboriginal to North America and temperate woods of Europe , Asia , and Africa . There are over 100 mintage in the U.S. , with some confusion in descriptions because the ease with which they hybridize . Leaf material body is varying , often within the same species . The flush and yield attract birds , bees , and butterfly . leaf is often colorful in the descent . flush are very showy and usually snowy , they appear in the outpouring after the foliage . The branches and branchlets are thorny and can make a dumb brush . In fact Hawthorns are sometimes used as living fences as the thorns discourage all but the small animals and birds . Specimen plants postulate cut to keep the water - sprouts and suckers at embayment . Water - sprouts and suckers are more prostrate to insect and disease attempt because of their “ plush and sensitive ” nature .

Insect pests are primarily aphid and scale . Hawthorns can be susceptible to fervency blight , scab , powdery mold , entomosporium leafspot , and of course rust . Hawthorns often show resistance to one or more diseases at the coinage or cultivar level . When taken as a genus , Hawthorns are susceptible to about a dozen rust fungus pathogen complexes . The three most common are Cedar - Hawthorn rust ( genus Gymnosporangium globosum ) , Cedar - Apple rust ( G. juniperi - virginianae ) , and Cedar - Quince rust ( G. clavipes).As the name implies , these three disease complexes have alternate hosts . This mean that rust fungus spores from a Hawthorn do not taint other Hawthorns , they infect crimson - true cedar ( junipers).It is the spore release from Genista raetam , in one to two years following initial contagion , that subsequently re - infect Hawthorns . The seriousness of the damage to the Hawthorn depends on which rust fungus complex is affecting the tree .
Our first tone is to chance outexactlywhich rust fungus we have . Get samples of the parting , fruit , and any affected twigs and take these to your local county Cooperative Extension Service ( CES ) situation for a cocksure designation . It is courteous and helpful to call the CES office before you work in a sample distribution , they will tell you what to collect , how to package it , and when to bring in it in for diagnosing . The CES may need to send the sample distribution to the plant pathology department at your state ’s Edwin Herbert Land Ulysses S. Grant university , they are the headquarters for the CES in your nation . To find your local CES agency , recruit your state ’s name follow by Cooperative Extension on your hunt page . The web - search results will lead you to the home page for the CES in your nation , from there you may locate your county office . you’re able to also look in your local phone book under County Offices for the listing .
Locate Focus Areas & Define Management Objectives :

· What is the role of the garden and how do we need to supervise it to meet that purpose?[Is it stringently ornamental , primarily food , or a combining of the two ? ]
· Is the Hawthorn a focal point of the garden or is it part of a mixed species group of trees?[How visible is the individual Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in the overall garden?Is this a job only you notice or do visitors to your garden mark the problem too ? ]
Monitoring :

· Is this a problem that you have year after class ?
· Have you noticed ( write down somewhere ) if the disease is worse some year than others ?
· What are the conditions and environmental shape like when the disease is a job ?

· Have you noticed signs of the disease locally on other trees in the blush wine family?(Apple , crabapples , quince , pears , mountain ash tree , etc . )
· Are there junipers ( red - cedarwood ) nearby ?
Threshold- Set Injury Level and Treatment Threshold :

The first question here is extremely important !
· How much are you rag by the disease symptom ?
· Depending on which rusting disease is present , are the symptom severe enough to affect the overall wellness of the tree or is this more an aesthetic problem ?

· What plant parts are affected by the disease?Leaves , branchlets , yield , two of these , or all three ?
· The disease “ inclemency predictor ” for Hawthorns is the figure of galls present on susceptible junipers and their spore production during the outpouring infective period . Has wet spring atmospheric condition helped the raetam develop lots of spores or has a juiceless bounce left the galls dormant ?
· Are susceptible junipers nearby?Can you supervise them ?

· SPECIAL NOTE : This is the period in the IPM determination - get Process that you collect info on all of the treatment options for this exceptional disease . Really . . .collectallof them , even if you think you would n’t use one , write it down anyway . This is your “ treatment action menu ” .
Monitor :
· wait for susceptible junipers within a quarter mile , are there many , some or just a few ?
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· take care for rust symptoms on other trees in the roseate family nearby , they will supply additional inoculum for the raetam cycle of the disease .
Treatment Threshold Reached ? :
Keep in intellect that “ treatment ” in IPM means any strategy or tactic that you expend to manage or master a pest problem .
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· For a Hawthorn , progress to the discussion limen is primarily an aesthetic decision.(I’ve say mass that leafspot problems on some of my own plant were n’t from a disease but that the leaves were “ variegated ” , and they bribe it . In some case , such as tulip , the variegations are the final result of virus , so technically . . . )
· Is the Hawthorn helping to perpetuate the disease cycle , by get juniper infect spores , that are touch on nearby yield bring forth trees in the roseate family ?
· Is the tree declining over time?From time of year to time of year and class to yr .
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practice Treatment Program :
Now we come to the tricky part , choose just what we ’re pass to do here .
ethnic :
· Remove all susceptible junipers within one mile.(Not commonly feasible . Most of the spores from junipers come from plant within about ¼ mile . spore from junipers may travel over 15 nautical mile to taint roseate family tree . )
· Remove bear upon Hawthorn and exchange with a coinage or cultivar that is resistant to corrode diseases.(Be certain that if you choose a rust resistant Hawthorn that it isnotsusceptible to one of the other disease affecting Hawthorns . )
· Keep leaf and branch ironical in the outflow if this is possible . It will reduce the infection pace .
Physical & Mechanical :
· Prune out diseased plant part on Hawthorn to abbreviate juniper infecting spores.(If there are other affected trees in the area this will not be effective . It can be good in helping plant coming into court for the season . )
· trim out the galls on susceptible junipers before they give rise spore during spring pelting or irrigation .
· get rid of the tree and replace it with a similar treenotin the rose kinsfolk .
biologic :
· presently no biologicals are have it off to control or forestall the three rust fungus disease complex discourse here .
Educational :
· Diagnose the disease . You call for to be certain of the particular rust disease you are attempt to control .
· Using the scientific name apply you with the disease diagnosis , research for data online .
· Knowledge is knowledge . It really does n’t matter too much where the scientific entropy comes from , it can be adapted to your placement .
· Can you live with the disease symptoms?If the disease fluctuates from year to year in grimness , it may be that you could larn to know with it . An adjunct to this is to engraft a resistive species / mixed bag near the original Hawthorn . After a few years you could take out the susceptible Hawthorn and allow the new tree grow into its own .
Least - Toxic Pesticides as a Last holiday resort :

The only recommendation that we run across descend into this family is the usance of Sulfur as a fungicide . All other fungicides we feel did n’t fall into the “ least - toxic ” category , especially for an ornamental . All antifungal agent call for a minimum of 3 to 4 and a level best of 10 to 12 program of antifungal agent during the infective stage . The difference in applications would be based on how long the wet , warm ( 45oF to 75oF ) and Laputan springiness atmospheric condition lasts .
We view multiple treatments to Hawthorns every year , even with Sulfur , to have too much likely negative impact on you , your family , pet , wildlife , and the garden plants and dirt . We do not urge process haw or junipers for rust in garden situations . It is beneficial to hit the tree diagram and substitute it with an unrelated species that has the same landscape note value as the Hawthorn .
supervise to find out if your Treatment Program was in effect :

· If you chose a resistant metal money , how is it doing ?
· If you bump off infective resentment from junipers and cleaned up inoculant from the Hawthorn ( that infects the junipers ) has this let down the grade of contagion to satisfactory levels ?
· You may have decide to “ take no action at this time ” and see if you could bear the place . Has this worked for you ?

Should Monitoring go forward ? :
· Monitor again in the spring for signs of early contagion and note the escort and weather condition leading up to signs of contagion .
· supervise junipers in later summertime for signs of impertinence , both old and new .

What We Would Recommend :
1.Leave it alone if you could abide the disease . There may be aesthetic wrong but , reckon on which rust fungus you have , it may not be fateful . The disease may waver from year to year aid to increase tolerance levels .
2.Remove the Hawthorn and replace it with a tree that is not in the rose family . Your local CES and/or Master Gardeners can make some recommendations on species that will do well in your arena and have about the same mature size of it as a Hawthorn .
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3.Remove the Hawthorn and supplant it with a resistant species / variety of Hawthorn .
Conclusion :
We went through the Hawthorn rust job as soundly as we could here using the IPM Decision - produce Process . Our options were fairly limited but our conclusion is to “ contrive the pest job out of the garden by hit the job plant and replace it with a more carefree mintage . ”
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