Fruits

Some aspects of caring for fruit trees, besides ensuring they have the proper nutrients and sufficient water, is pruning and training of fruit plants, processes that help provide the proper amount of sunlight and make it easier to harvest the fruit crop. Keeping the plants disease and pest free is another aspect of the care of fruit plants.

Among the pests that can destroy a fruit crop are aphids, slugs, spider mites, scales, and other insect infestations. There are also a number of diseases that can afflict fruit plants, such as fireblight, brown rot, peach leaf curl, verticillium wilt, and powdery mildew. Some wildlife species, such as deer, birds, moles, gophers, mice, and rabbits can destroy the fruit crop either by stripping leaves from young trees, gnawing on the roots, or feasting on the fruit before it can be harvested. Fruit growers have developed a number of damage-control methods that include careful selection of plants, chemical deterrents, cutting away damaged parts of the plants, the use of nets to protect fruit, and wire mesh to protect the roots and bark of trees.