I have a small orchard of dwarf apple trees. This year I am seeing a
worrying phenomenon- a great deal of cracking and peeling bark just
below the graft union. I am seeing this on several rootstocks (G16,
M9). The bits of bark peeling off are no more than 1/16 inch, maybe
less, but they are more than paper thin. The tissue exposed underneath
seems sound, although it is quite often damp. Still, probing at it
does not seem to expose rot.
One thing I did this year for the first time was to paint my trunks
with an interior latex paint/Surround slurry to discourage borers. One
of my fears is that this somehow contributed to the problem.
Does anyone have any guesses? Is this a normal growth pattern?
I hope everyone is having as beautiful a week as we are here,
Jason MacArthur
Marlboro, VT
[NAFEX] Apple Trunk Cracking,
Jason MacArthur, 08/08/2006