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- From: David.Maxwell@dal.ca
- To: Steve <sdw12986@aol.com>, North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree)
- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:58:48 -0400
This could be old borer damage. I do have extensive experience with borers (to my
great regret). Generally the borers killed my whole tree, but an occasional tree
which had only one borer would recover, and the old tunnel eventually broke down,
leaving a gap in the bark rather like your picture. My suggestion - when the weather
warms up - is to go out with a sharp knife and cut the bark away above the cleft in
the bark and see whether there is a tunnel extending up the trunk (maybe even with
a fat grub at the end) Active borer infestation is actually pretty easy to detect - there
is a yellow-brown frass coming out of the hole(s) which is pretty obvious once one
looks for it. If there is nothing above, you may need to go down - borers may go
several inches below ground level. If it is borers be aware that the lifecycle may be
up to 3 years, if you have them in one tree they are likely to be in neighbouring
trees (the moths are pretty lazy and don't travel far before laying their eggs, so they
generally infect neighbouring trees rather than skipping to the other side of the
orchard), and that the commonly suggested control measure of poking a wire into
the hole doesn't work because the holes are frequently crooked and the wire gets
caught up in a bend.
On 17 Mar 2008 at 0:48, Steve wrote:
>
> I've never had borers so I didn't really check. I didn't notice any holes but I wouldn't
know what to
> look for anyway.
> I was thinking that some nice spring day I may flop down beside the tree and clean away
any
> dead bark that I find. Maybe cut a clean line around the edges to help healing, if that's
possible. I
> suppose borer damage would then be right there looking me in the face.
> I'll wait to see what other advice gets offered. Right now there is about 2 feet of snow
in the yard
> and it's going to 8 below zero tomorrow night. No flopping on the ground for a while.
>
> Steve
-
[NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Steve, 03/16/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Amanda Emily, 03/16/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Steve, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
David . Maxwell, 03/17/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree), Hélène Dessureault, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
David . Maxwell, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Steve, 03/17/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree), dmnorton, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Mark & Helen Angermayer, 03/17/2008
-
[NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?,
Mark & Helen Angermayer, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?,
Scott Williamson, 03/17/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?, S & E Hills, 03/17/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?, Hector Black, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?,
Scott Williamson, 03/17/2008
-
[NAFEX] Pawpaws and rabbit damage?,
Mark & Helen Angermayer, 03/17/2008
-
Re: [NAFEX] Trouble in paradise? (apple tree),
Amanda Emily, 03/16/2008
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