Moss On Trees - Benefits, Harms, Methods Of Prevention And Control. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

Everyone remembers well from the lessons at school that the moss on the trees grows from the north side, and this is a reliable landmark for determining the cardinal points in the forest, if you suddenly get lost. True, this is not entirely true. Moss on a tree can grow from any side, it just grows more from the north, as there is more moisture and less sun. But this is in the forest. But what if moss grows on trees in our garden? Here we won't get lost, and we don't really need landmarks. Is there any benefit from such a neighborhood, or does it only harm our pets? Let's try to figure it out.

Content:

• Useful properties of moss on trees
• Can moss interfere with tree development?
• Prevention of the appearance of moss on trees
• Measures to combat emerging moss

Useful properties of moss on trees

Moss was one of the earliest plants on Earth. Its age is almost three hundred million years. There are many varieties of moss. There are so many of them, and they are so diverse that there is a whole section in botany devoted to the study of mosses - bryology.

Moss can grow everywhere, in any climatic zone. With temporary adverse changes in the environment, the moss takes on a state of suspended animation. When conditions change for the better for him, his life processes are restored.

Some experts believe that moss and lichen growing on trees are talking about the clean air of the environment. Japanese scientists, for example, conducted an experiment and determined that moss is not only a natural bioindicator that reacts to air pollution and the amount of moisture in it. Since moss uses water and nutrients from the environment where it grows for its growth, it is also a wonderful air purifier from various pollution. Depending on changes in the ecosystem, it changes its appearance and growth rate, and under especially unfavorable conditions it can die completely.

A thick layer of moss has the ability to accumulate and retain radioactive particles.

It is believed that trees covered with moss or lichen do not suffer from frost damage and sunburn.

At the same time, the appearance of moss on the bark of a tree may indicate a disease of the latter, and this is worth paying attention to. On an old or diseased tree, bark growth slows down or stops altogether, and such a surface is even more suitable for the growth of moss and lichen.

These plants are not considered to be parasitic, they feed on moisture trapped in the bark. In the absence of moisture, mosses dry up, but when it appears, they begin to grow again. They do not harm trees, since they grow only on the surface of the bark, without penetrating deep into the trunk.

Can moss interfere with tree development?

Now let's consider the potential harm from the appearance of such a guest in our garden. Mosses are tiny perennials up to 50 mm long. They have no flowers, and instead of roots - root hairs (rhizoids). Rhizoids are one elongated cell or several cells growing in a row. They serve to attach the plant to the base surface and absorb moisture.

Directly on the body of the moss, a sporophyte grows - a thin leg, at the end of which a box is formed - a sporangium, inside this box a large number of spores mature.

Mosses reproduce by spores, therefore, appearing on one tree, they rather quickly move by wind, rain, insects to neighboring ones, which, first of all, violates the aesthetic beauty of the garden and gives it an unkempt look.

Moss spreads along the bark of the tree in a continuous thick carpet, which prevents free access of air and moisture to the surface of the trunk and branches. This slows down the development of the tree and reduces its fruitfulness.

In addition, the accumulation of moss is an excellent shelter for various pests, larvae, bacteria and spores of already parasitic plants. Therefore, it is better to avoid the appearance of moss on your trees.

Prevention of the appearance of moss on trees

To prevent moss from becoming a master in your garden, you need to ensure that trees and bushes are properly planted. Mosses love shaded areas, old trees. Therefore, try to keep your trees in open, well-ventilated areas.

Also, to prevent the appearance of moss, it is necessary:

Remove old branches and excess plants in a timely manner, do thinning pruning of the tree crown. This is done so that the crown is blown by the wind and dries out well after rain, so that more sunlight falls on the branches

2. Make sure that the soil does not acidify. The optimum acidity of the soil for the garden should be in the range of 5.5-6.5 units, this is an indicator of slightly acidic soil.

It is possible to approximately determine the acidity of the soil, and it is divided into acidic, neutral and alkaline, at home, without resorting to chemical analyzes. To do this, put a small amount of soil from the garden on a glass surface and pour 9% vinegar with tabletop. If a lot of foam appears after that, then the soil is alkaline, a small amount of foam indicates that the soil is neutral, the absence of foam indicates acidic soil.

It is good to deacidify the soil with wood ash. The weight component of ash is from 700 g to 1.5 kg per square meter. Average application rate 500-600 g.

3. Carry out whitewashing of trunks for the winter with a solution of lime (3 kg of lime per 10 liters of water), into which you can add copper sulfate (100 grams), clay or mullein. The bole and the lower skeletal branches of old trees are whitewashed in dry and warm weather.

4. It is possible to prepare a solution for coating trees from simple ingredients: 1 kg of salt, 2 kg of wood ash, pour two pieces of grated laundry soap with 10 liters of hot water and bring to a boil. Cool and can be used by brushing the solution onto the affected areas.

Measures to combat emerging moss

If preventive measures were insufficient, and you notice the appearance and spread of moss in your garden, you will have to deal with its destruction.

The safest and at the same time effective method will be spraying plants with a solution of ferrous sulfate. You should take 30-50 grams of powder per 1 liter of water. Trees are processed in early spring, always before the buds swell, or late in autumn after the leaves have fallen off.

We spray with the solution not only the trunks and skeletal branches, but also the plot of land around the tree for its disinfection. The moss dies and falls off (do not forget to put a film under the tree). Iron vitriol is also an excellent protector against fruit rot, scab, it will help fight powdery mildew and other tree diseases.

Be careful that a strong concentration of ferrous sulfate solution, which we use to get rid of trees from mosses and various fungal diseases, can cause burns on young shoots and leaves. The bark is not sensitive to such a saturated solution.

It is not toxic to humans, but certain precautions must be taken to protect the eyes and respiratory system when spraying.

The advantage of ferrous sulfate is that it is a contact fungicide, that is, it works only on the surface, is not absorbed into the cell sap, does not enter the plant, does not spread through stem cells, unlike systemic drugs.

The remaining areas of moss can be cleaned with a wooden stick or scraper, so as not to damage the bark, you can even use a stiff mitten. It all depends on how much moss is left on your tree. Pre-lay a film or thick cloth under the tree so that moss spores do not get into the ground. After cleaning, everything that appears on the film must be burned. Mechanical cleaning is carried out in wet weather in late autumn or early spring after the end or before the start of sap flow in the tree.

It is very good, after cleaning, to treat the tree once with a solution of copper sulfate (400 g per 10 liters of warm water). The processing time is also carried out in early spring or late autumn during the period of absence of sap flow in the plant.

Pay attention to the observance of safety measures when working with copper sulfate. This substance is poisonous, you need to work with gloves, avoiding contact with the skin. A solution of copper sulfate must be used within 4-5 hours after preparation, then it becomes unusable.

Another spray option is oxalic acid diluted with water in a ratio of one part acid to eight parts water.

When areas covered with moss are small, or moss appears on your trees only from time to time, you can use the fungicide "Skor". It is used both as a prophylactic agent with a long-term effect and for the treatment of certain diseases.

Observe precautions when using this drug. If the period of spore formation in moss growths has already begun, then this drug is useless.

Before any processing of the tree, it is necessary to cut off dried branches, remove frozen bark, clean up all damage to the bark, places where branches were cut and broken, and cover with garden pitch.

Dear Readers! If you want to have a healthy garden and high productivity of fruit trees, check the condition of their bark at least once or twice a year. Avoid the spread of mosses and lichens, and if you find them, immediately start cleaning your pets. For this, your garden will thank you with a generous harvest.