North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jay Cutts <orders@cuttsreviews.com>]

I wonder if this is similar to a problem that I have here in New Mexico 
consistently. The leaves start to turn brown at the edges and then die 
back toward the middle. Usually nearly all of the leaves are affected. 
We are having this problem with several trees this year. In the past I 
have assumed that the problem was limited to certain types of trees. 
However, this year it is affecting a young apple tree that never had 
this problem before.

Here is my approach. I don't know if it will work.

I have cut back completely dead segments of branches but I am not 
cutting the tree back as severely as recommended below because there are 
some partially functioning leaves scattered in upper branches. First, in 
our area the soil and the irrigation water are very alkaline, so I've 
tried applying a liquid acidifier and have seen some possible small 
improvement. Second, I am applying a foliar spray of fish emulsion with 
a bit of acidifier and am spraying the plant daily, after the sun has 
dropped. I spray any remaining leaves and I spray all of the stems.

My hope, and rationale, is to help the plant accumulate a little bit of 
stored energy so that it can form some good buds for next year. I am 
hypothesizing that the stems and trunks of young trees have some 
photosynthesizing ability or at least some ability to absorb some of the 
nutrients from the spray.

So far the process seems to have stopped any further loss of leaves, 
though only a handful of partially burnt out leaves remain. I do see 
some good buds that have a good green color. I'm hoping that when the 
weather cools (it's been in the upper 90s) the plant may recover a bit. 
We don't have hard frost until October.

This drying up of leaves is a brutal process and seems to have nothing 
to do with the amount of water. Around here I assumed it is related to 
the UV intensity but there could be other factors. On one of our young 
apples, there is not much left but some green leaf stems and I'm 
spraying those like crazy to feed them.

I was initially concerned about encouraging new growth that would be too 
green to harden off. Now, if I do get any new growth, I'll be thrilled.

By the way, my pawpaw, which was quite pale when I let it be exposed to 
direct sun, has greened up significantly with an application of liquid 
acidifier.

Regards,

Jay

Jay Cutts
Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
Lead Author, Barron's MCAT Prep Book
Lead Author, Barron's LSAT Prep Book (2013)
(505)-281-0684
10 am to 10 pm Mt Time, 7 days

On 8/16/2012 8:39 PM, William McNam wrote:
> Yes, cut off  as much of the top as possible!
>
>
> ********************
>
>
> ------------------------------
> On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 7:29 PM PDT Steven Covacci wrote:
>
> > Group:
> > A friend of mine plants a number of fruit trees (stone-fruits, pear, etc.) 
> > bareroot this spring in clay soil.  He says they received enough rain, but I 
> > think there was drought.. not sure.
> > So, he showed me photos: the leaves have almost all dropped off of most of 
> > these.  He says the wood is still green inside.  If he digs around the trunks 
> > and amends with manure, and waters can he do the following to save the trees: 
> > cut off the trunk at a few inches above each graft-union so that the trees 
> > can focus their energy reserves into a small segment of the remaining scion?
> > Thank you,
> > Steve; NJ
> >
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