Apple Scab
A common fungal disease of apple caused by Venturia inaequalis. It affects leaves and fruit and is favored by cool, wet spring weather.
Affected Plant
Apple
Severity
Moderate to High
Symptoms
- Olive-green to dark brown or black velvety spots on leaves
- Distorted, curled, or puckered leaves
- Premature leaf drop
- Corky, scabby lesions on fruit surface
Causes
- Fungal infection by Venturia inaequalis
- Spores overwintering in fallen, infected leaves
- Cool, wet conditions during spring bud break
Prevention
- Rake up and destroy fallen leaves each autumn
- Prune trees to improve air circulation and sunlight penetration
- Choose scab-resistant apple varieties where possible
- Avoid overhead irrigation that keeps foliage wet
Management
- Apply protectant fungicides timed to bud break and wet periods, following label and local extension guidance
- Remove and dispose of infected leaves and fruit
Related Apple Diseases
Think your plant might have Apple Scab?
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Diagnose Your PlantDisclaimer: This is an AI-generated result and not a replacement for expert agronomic or plant-pathology diagnosis. Confidence scores reflect the model's certainty, not biological ground truth. The model was trained and evaluated on leaf photos captured under controlled, lab-like conditions, so accuracy on real-world field photos (cluttered backgrounds, variable lighting, multiple or overlapping leaves) may be lower than the reported evaluation metrics.