Quince Diseases: Most Common Pests and Diseases

All vegetables are at risk of contracting a disease or suffering from a pest, the quince is no exception. That is why it is very important to know how to prevent them, detect them and cure the plant. To help you, we are going to talk in this article about quince pests and diseases.

If you are thinking of growing this fruit tree, I recommend that you inform yourself about the pathologies that it can suffer. Here we will list the plagues that it can suffer and we will talk about quince diseases and how to cure them.

Pests and diseases of quince

Before talking about quince diseases, we are going to list the most common pests that can affect this vegetable:

• Pear bud mite (Eriophyes pyri)
• Brown spider mite (Bryobia rubrioculus)
• Red spider of fruit trees and vines (Panonychus ulmi)
• Carpocapsa (Cydia pomonella), also known as codling moth or caterpillar
• San Jose scale (Despicable and destructive, A destructive quadruped)
• apple freckles (Schizothyrium apple), also known as the “fly shit”
• Aphids: Ashy apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea), apple woolly aphid (Eriosoma woolly) and green apple aphid (apple bees)
• Olive Serpeta (Elms are beautiful)
• Bull (bubalus cherry)

What to do against pests? The best option we have is to try to prevent a lack of control of insects and parasites. For this we can attract birds to the area, because these are the natural predators of bugs. Another preventative measure is fumigate with sprays of wormwood or tansy after flowering has occurred. Obviously, we must also collect the fruits that contain larvae.

As for quince diseases, we are going to comment on the most common ones below.

leaf spot disease

First of all we have leaf spot. It is a disease caused by a fungus called Diplocarpon mespili. This fungus not only affects quince, but also many rosaceas. We can detect this disease because it produces a kind of dark spots on both the fruits and the leaves. First, small black dots appear. These grow as the leaf turns yellow or brown until it finally falls off. When it affects the fruits, spots appear on them and they begin to malform.

The fungus responsible for leaf spot remains in the soil through the winter, specifically in plant remains such as leaves, branches, etc. Once spring begins, the Diplocarpon mespili it produces spores that are spread by wind, rain or by pollinators. This is how it manages to infect trees, such as quince. Generally, this infection tends to be stronger in rainy summers, since the rain helps to disperse the spores.

Brown rot

Like leaf spot disease, brown rot also affects quince quite frequently, being caused by a fungus, this time belonging to the genus Monilinia. This pathology is characterized by mummification of the fruits. What does this mean? well what the fruits of the affected plant begin to dry and harden, remaining in this infected state on the tree. As for the flowers, they begin to die and small cankers appear on the floral twigs. If it is a very rainy year, brown layers of spores may even appear on both the fruits and the leaves.

During winter, the fungus responsible for brown rot it survives on twigs, cankers, and mummified fruit. Like the previous fungus, the infection of this one is also stronger in rainy summers.

Quince brown spot

In the case of the brown spot of the quince, the culprits are the fungi Diplocarpon mespili, Diplocarpon maculatum y spotted woodpecker. These produce the appearance of red spots on the leaves of the vegetable. The little spots enlarge and expand until they finally join each other. As a consequence, the leaf ends up dying and falling off. After infecting the leaves they pass to the fruits. If we do not stop this disease in time, the plant may not develop fruits.

Fire blight on quince

Finally, fire blight remains to be highlighted. As its name indicates, this time the responsible agent is not a fungus, but a bacterium called Erwinia amylovora. It is the worst disease that can affect quince and other vegetables. It causes the wilting and fall of the flowers and blackening of the nerves and the edges of the leaves, which end up drying up and curling up, remaining hanging from the tree.

How is the quince plant cured?

Although it is true that prevention is better than cure, it is not always possible for us. In the event that the quince has contracted a disease, we can cure it. The treatment will always depend on the disease you have.

• Leaf spot disease: Apply some Bordeaux broth copper fungicide that is allowed. To prevent the expansion of the fungus, we can fumigate the flowers with copper. It is also a good idea to prune dead branches and clean the ground of plant debris.
• Brown rot: Apply a suitable fungicide for this fungus. If we harvest the fruit, it is best to introduce it as soon as possible in the cold chain to prevent the fungus from spreading. Of course, we must also get rid of the affected fruits, flowers and branches. To prevent it, we must keep the soil clean of plant matter and avoid irrigation that moistens both the branches and the flowers of the tree. Through good pruning we can achieve better aeration of the plant.
• Quince brown spot: The only way to cure this disease is by a fungicidal treatment. This not only cures the vegetable, but also serves to prevent this fungal infection. We can also try to prevent the quince from becoming infected with this fungus by removing plant matter from the soil and avoiding sprinkler irrigation.
• fire blight: As it is a very dangerous disease for plants, it is in quarantine, at least in the European Union. Therefore, the regulations in force to treat it are very strict and must be consulted according to the region in which we find ourselves.

I hope that this information has been useful to you in order to detect quince diseases in time and treat them. Remember that the health of the vegetable is of paramount importance both to prevent pathologies and to cure them. So good maintenance is essential.