Chestnuts get brown spots

Where do the brown spots come from?

The simplest cause of brown speckled leaves is simple sunburn. Even if the chestnut has a sunny Location She can suffer from too much sun, especially if the sunshine leads to prolonged drought.

Brown spots on the leaves of your chestnut can be from the Horse chestnut leaf miner caused, or said by their larvae. These eat tunnels, so-called mines, in the leaves. This interrupts the supply of water and nutrients and the leaves wilt prematurely. The affected chestnut does not die, but it is clearly weakened. So the harvest is less and the chestnut is more susceptible to other diseases and Pests.

The tan leaves also discolour the leaves of a chestnut. This is due to a fungal infection. The Guignardia aesculi is responsible. The spots can be several centimeters in size and are reddish brown with a light yellow border. If the infestation is severe, the withered leaves curl up, which has given the disease the name “leaf roll disease”.

Possible causes of brown spots:

• Horse chestnut leaf miner
• sunburn
• Leaf tan (fungal infection with Guignardia aesculi)

How can I save my chestnut?

There is little you can do to help your chestnut in the current year. But prevention and containment of the disease for the next year is possible and strongly advised. This is the only way to protect your chestnut in the long term.

To do this, collect the fallen leaves before the larvae of the Horse chestnut leaf miner retreat into the soil or the fungal spores of the Guignardia aesculi spread in the soil. Dispose of the leaves reliably, it is best to burn them. The pathogens can also survive in compost if it does not reach a core temperature of at least 60 ° C.