Pests & diseases › Canker
Canker
Sunken cracked patches on parsnip shoulders, apple and pear branches. Allows rot to set in.
Symptoms
- Parsnip: black or orange-brown cracks on shoulders, soft rotten patches
- Apple/pear: sunken oval bark lesions, branches die back beyond
- Whole branches dying in severe cases
Lifecycle
Fungal spores enter through wounds. Worse in wet seasons and on heavy soils.
What to do
- Parsnip: cut out affected shoulders, use the rest
- Apple/pear: prune out cankered wood back to clean tissue, paint cut with canker paint
- Burn or bin prunings — never compost
If it's bad
- Copper-based fungicide on apples after leaf fall
Stop it coming back
- Parsnip: well-drained soil, resistant varieties (Avonresister, Gladiator)
- Apple/pear: prune in dry weather only, mulch generously
- Three-year rotation for parsnips
Crops it goes for
Plan the plot, track every sowing, cook the harvest
Sowing reminders and harvest forecasts for your own frost dates, the Seed Tin, Scan Centre for any label or packet, and the Potty Mouth Garden Club. Free to start.