Apple Tree Branches dying at tips?

[whitenack]

Please see the pics of a young lodi apple tree. The dying started a month or so ago and has slowly gotten worse. Also, the fruit is starting to get a reddish color at the tops.

Can anyone diagnose the problem?

What should be done?

 

[Thillmaine]

fireblight

fireblight..prune out infected branches and sanitize with lysol between cuts..

 

[treeseer]

isn't the reddening of the fruit normal?

erwinia amylovora is fireblight.

 

[S Mc]

Whitenack, whereas we have seen damage similar to your apple tree caused by cicadas, I am also going with fireblight. (Particularly if you can see a blackening of the infected twig.) Lodi cultivars are highly susceptible to this bacteria. As Thillmaine said, prune it out. The reference to disinfecting was pertaining to your pruners, not the tree. LOL

Prune approximately 6-8" below the blighted tissue, dispose of infected limbs. We will do this procedure when the disease is least likely to be transmitted.

Orchard owners many times have a zero tolerance for fire blight and will simply remove the tree rather than chance a full scale infestation on a cash crop. however, on an individual tree in your yard, we have had several client's whose trees came back after aggressive removal of infected limbs. Restructing may have to take place in the future. This is probably a problem your tree will experience off and on throughout its life as it is a susceptible cultivar.

Many apples typically have a "blush" at the stem.

Sylvia

 

[whitenack]

Whitenack, whereas we have seen damage similar to your apple tree caused by cicadas ...

We had a plague of cicadas this year. This was the 17 year brood. They were everywhere!

Could it be cicada damage?

 

[fubar2]

If it is cicadas there should be easily seen lengthwise slits in the bark on the branches. Thats how they lay their eggs. They do like to work fruit trees but I cant see the slits in the pics.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

isn't the reddening of the fruit normal?

erwinia amylovora is fireblight.

We just planted a Gravenstien, which is the same kind of tree my parents had where I grew up.

Green with a rosy side on many of them. Some green, but some with a bit of red.

I planted our two new apple trees to the side of our raised deck, so we can reach out and pick some fruit after they grow a little bit.

 

[appalachianarbo]

Streptomycin has been used in commercial settings, but resistance has been seen.

Pruning out infected branches is a good strategy, but disinfecting between cuts is absolutely essential. The infection will come back in a more severe fashion if you do not disinfect your pruning tools between each cut.

 

[whitenack]

Here are some more pics to check out. Just about all the limbs have this kind of wound on it. Is this cicada damage? Does this explain the dying tips? Sorry this pic is fuzzy, couldn't get the camera to focus right.

Also, check out these verticle wounds on the main stem. Is this something to be worried about?

 

[gumneck]

Stop fertilizer and anything else to bring in alot of new growth until you eradicate. Also, I see some Japanese beetles on one of the pics. Get rid of them because they can spread the disease further. Seven should do it. Although, it can be spread by insects in the bloom stage and you are way past that, I would still get rid of the beetles just to be safe. I could envision a scenario where they chew on a stem that has the disease in it and then they chew somewhere else thereby spreading the disease.

As said, sterilize pruners between cuts(I use clorox/water solution 30/70mix) oil pruners when done to remove solution. Burn your prunings.

Next year, strepto should be used when in bloom.

 

[appalachianarbo]

Your first (blurry) picture is cicada damage. This can cause tip dieback on smaller diameter twigs, and can affect one branch of a tree or the entire crown. Nothing to be done about it now, though. What your pictures didn't show was a closeup of the dieback itself. I can't tell if it's cicada damage or fireblight.

 

[fubar2]

Get used to seeing those cicada scars. They will be visiable for years to come.

 

[whitenack]

What your pictures didn't show was a closeup of the dieback itself. I can't tell if it's cicada damage or fireblight.

Is this good enough? I can try to get closer if there is something specific you are looking for.

 

[appalachianarbo]

Looks like fireblight. Do you see the cicada scars on only the dead tips? If not the cicada scars are probably just cosmetic or have caused minor damage. Look for blackened tips of branches and also oozing and black cankers.

Follow the recommendations above for pruning.

 

[sarahsister5]

trees dying near blossoms

we have a 5 yr old gravenstein that is dying around the old buds...does not appear to be fireblight as there is no blackening just completely dried leaves they are still grn just all the life zapped from it.I could sure use suggestions as we have aprox 15 other fruit trees in the area and dont want to lose them

 

[Raintree]

This is very interesting to me, I have never seen Periodical cicada egg slits on this diameter trunk before. Is the consensus of the forum that this is in fact Cicada damage? Not knowing I would have guessed lateral stress fracture due to bending of stem possible by an ice storm. Please inform, these insects aren't an issue in my neck of the woods.