- 1). Fill a bucket with nine parts water and one part bleach. Take it to the side of the apple tree along with a pair of shears.
- 2). Prune all apple tree branches with cankers on the wood. Dip the shears in the bleach solution to kill the fungus spores that transfer to the blades after each cut. Burn the infected limbs if possible. If not, seal them in a trash bag and throw them out.
- 3). Spray the tree with fixed copper at the rates listed on the product label. Alternatively, use a commercial blend of copper sulfate, lime and water in a 10-10-100 solution. Both are fungicides to protect the tree from recurring infections. The mix is more rain-resistant than the fixed copper. Spray the plant thoroughly when the apple tree leaves begin to drop in autumn. Repeat the treatment when only one-fourth of the foliage remains on the branches.
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