Olive tree diseases and fungus

Olive trees are hardy and healthy, otherwise they would hardly be millennia old. If the care is not right, but diseases and fungi like to hit, usually no cause for panic. Olive tree diseases are there, even a very bad, you need to know to help with the extermination. Otherwise, however, olive trees are so sturdy that they put disease away rather well, so in case of ailing olive trees, always first the culture conditions should be thoroughly checked:

First question and precaution: Is correct the care of the olive tree ">

When researching bio-communities, the same intermediate result emerges again and again: We know (recognize) that we know nothing or too little to successfully influence a long-settled equilibrium. Whether antibiotics destroy the human intestinal flora against harmless infections, disinfectants destroy the bio-sphere of a household or monoculture + pesticides ruin plant communities - human impact was ultimately not a good idea.

Plant diseases and fungi are a natural stress training for plants, which they urgently need for successful development / evolution. A healthy plant can survive normal illnesses such as a cold and may even benefit from the fungus. In particular, olive trees are not known to succumb to any "cold", otherwise the robust trees would not have such a long history of development (fossil finds prove that there have been olive trees for at least 54, 000 years) and could not grow so old as a single plant our world is full of olive trees older than 1, 000 years).

When an olive tree is ailing, the care is usually not right: pathogens / fungi only cause damage to weakened plants; they are often not noticed in strong, healthy plants. Therefore, the first measure of the ailing olive tree is always: Check all culture conditions thoroughly and improve if necessary.

Olive tree diseases and fungus

These olive tree diseases and fungi should know you (if possible before buying):

1. The fire bacterium
Xylella fastidiosa blocks the water and nutrient balance of the plants, they dry out and eventually die off. Xylella fastidiosa infests various plants, including olive trees, after it was probably introduced to southern Europe via ornamental plants from Costa Rica.

For infected plants, there is an EU-wide ban on imports + further protective measures / controls that your olive tree suffers from the Feuerbakterium, so it is not likely. If it is infested, you must report the quarantine pest organism, the plant would be destroyed.

Currently, there is no antidote, but plant researchers have already found olive varieties that are less sensitive to the germ, so nature is already working on defenses against the pathogen. In the meantime, plant researchers from several countries are working on countermeasures. On leaf surfaces, the bacteria could already be killed by targeted action with rock flour suspension and slaked lime. Whether plants and plant researchers get control of the common bacterium in Europe also depends on the vigilance and import behavior of EU citizens.

Tip: Xylella fastidiosa rages in Apulia, where in the spring of 2015 in the Sperrgürtel already thousands of olive trees had to be felled. Please pay attention when buying olive trees, only import trees from trackable sources and with passport / phytosanitary certificate are safe. When a fire bacterium "slips", it gets really annoying: reporting, confinement of the infested area, records of 188 likely susceptible plant species / species, destruction of 13 susceptible host plants - presumably you will be liable if you are at fault.

2. Tubercle disease
is caused by the pathogen Pseudomonas syringae subsp. savastanoi pv. oleae caused. The bacterium causes cell proliferation, which causes shoots to die off and reduces the quality / quantity of the crop.

Since Germany is not full of olive groves, you can only buy this olive crab. Study enough images of tuberculosis before buying to detect the smallest cell proliferation (and do not buy an olive tree you could not preview).

However, the tuberculosis disease was already around 300 BC. Olive trees can obviously survive them, otherwise there would be no more. Fight possibly ev. Existing olive flies, s. "Olive Tree Pests", cut off all affected parts of plants, with disinfected tools and disposable gloves, dispose of the sections in a bag in the household waste.

Tip: If an oleander is near the olive tree, it must be examined, the tuberculosis disease can also affect him.

3. The upright fungus Fomitiporia punctata forms flat to pillow-shaped fruiting bodies on the trunk of olive trees, which are difficult to detach. You do not have to be replaced, the pores are already everywhere.

Since the fungus can cause stem rot, it should be combated: cutting out shoots with disinfected tools far below visible fungus bodies, reducing moisture, making the olive tree drier / dry and lightening.