Apple Canker Control Challenge Quiz

Explore practical strategies for managing apple canker in orchards, including identification, prevention, and cultural techniques. Enhance your understanding of effective approaches for healthier apple crops.

1. Recognizing the Disease

   Which of the following is a common visible symptom of apple canker on tree branches or trunks?

   1. Sunken lesions with cracked bark
   2. White powder on fruit
   3. Yellow spotting on leaves
   4. Leaf curling at tips

   Explanation: Sunken lesions with cracked bark are characteristic of apple canker, indicating infection on branches and trunks. Yellow spotting on leaves is more typical of foliar diseases, white powder on fruit suggests powdery mildew, and leaf curling at tips often points to issues like aphid infestation, not canker.

2. Cultural Practices

   Why is pruning during dry weather recommended for managing apple canker in orchards?

   1. Promotes faster leaf growth
   2. Improves fruit color
   3. Makes branches more flexible
   4. Reduces spread of fungal spores

   Explanation: Pruning during dry weather lowers the risk of fungal spores spreading and infecting fresh cuts since moisture aids pathogen dispersal. Promoting faster leaf growth or improving fruit color are not primary purposes of pruning, and flexibility of branches is unrelated to the timing of pruning.

3. Plant Resistance

   What is one effective approach to reducing apple canker risk when establishing a new orchard?

   1. Watering in the evening
   2. Planting trees closer together
   3. Applying high nitrogen fertilizers
   4. Choosing resistant apple varieties

   Explanation: Selecting resistant apple varieties is a proven preventive strategy against canker. Planting trees closely can increase humidity and disease risk, evening watering can prolong wetness and aid infection, and high nitrogen levels can weaken tree defenses, increasing vulnerability.

4. Chemical Control

   Which type of chemical treatment is sometimes used to help manage apple canker infections?

   1. Herbicides
   2. Rooting hormones
   3. Copper-based fungicides
   4. Insecticides

   Explanation: Copper-based fungicides can suppress canker pathogens when used appropriately. Herbicides target weeds, insecticides are for insect control, and rooting hormones promote root development, none of which specifically manage apple canker.

5. Sanitation Measures

   Which sanitation practice is important in controlling apple canker spread within an orchard?

   1. Watering from overhead sprinklers
   2. Removing and destroying infected branches
   3. Mulching directly against tree trunks
   4. Leaving pruned material in rows

   Explanation: Prompt removal and destruction of infected branches significantly reduces the source of infection. Mulching against trunks can trap moisture and encourage disease, leaving pruned materials can spread pathogens, and overhead irrigation can increase humidity, all potentially worsening canker spread.