North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dennis Norton" <dmnorton@royaloakfarmorchard.com>]

If it is the entire tree, I would be less inclined to think that it is verticillium because that tends to give a sectional dieback in the trees. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort/gardenfacts/X1008.pdf .  I’d be more concerned with the watering cycle actually.  With a lot of watering, even in heat or drought, there might be root rot organisms that are chomping away at the root system and causing problems with water uptake and that would lead to the wilting.  When you start to see sectional dieback, I would worry about verticillium wilt.  I did have some phythopthra during last year's drought here in Northern Illinois in my peaches due to over-compensating with too much irrigation.  Check some of your roots or trowel out some soil next to one of the trunks at soil level about 2-3 inches down.  Scrape some of the bark or root sections and if you see an orange to brownish orange color, then it is possibly phythopthra  or root rot.  Hope this helps!

 

Dennis Norton
Royal Oak Farm Orchard
http://www.royaloakfarmorchard.com
http://www.theorchardkeeper.blogspot.com

----- Original Message -----

From: Nathan Torgerson

To: North American Fruit Explorers

Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 10:03 PM

Subject: [NAFEX] Plum tree leaves drying up and falling off

I haven't had any luck with google searches, so I thought I'd ask to see if anyone esle has seen this and what to do about it.

 

In about three weeks my two plum trees (Superior and Toka) have gone from healthy to having the leaves turn yellow, curl up, dry up and fall off. It's happening to the whole tree in both cases.  We havent had rain for a month and it's been hot (hit 100 for the first time in 11 years in Minneapolis today), but the trees have been watered every other day like the rest of my trees.  At first I thought it might be Verticillium wilt, but now I'm not so sure since it hit the entire tree at the same time.

 

Thanks in advance,

Nate

Andover, MN zone 4a

 

 

 

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