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| Hello, I have a small orchard of six apple trees and one of my Northern Spies has wilted. All the leaves on the tree are wilting as if thirsty. I've watered it generously in case it is as simple a solution as that. The tree has been in the ground 14 months and is still relatively small and has yet to bear fruit. The leaves haven't dropped and it looks like it's in drought mode. Wednesday evening I sprayed Neem Oil and then put down some crab grass control. It was close to, but not ON this tree. Thursday morning my irrigation went off and we had a bit of rain and a LOT of rain Friday... So I'm not thinking it's a drought...but part of me wonders if the crab grass stuff might have leeched down and done damage...or worse it has a disease I can't identify. I sprayed tonight some Copper fungicide and hope later this week to hit it with some bonide fruit tree spray. I have noticed some minor cedar apple rust I wanted to get on top of but I don't think that's my problem. I did have some small bugs on it but not a lot. I've ordered an army of lady bugs to deal with them should it be aphids. I'm very green at running the orchard but I'm seriously worried I'm going to lose this tree and 14 months of growing time on it. What's even worse, is if i DO have to replace the tree, I need to decide fast as Starkbros, were I get my trees, stops shipping June 30th...and if I don't order one by then, it'd mean waiting until fall to plant meaning I will have lost TWO whole years of growing. Any help would be great. Thanks so much!!!! |
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| Sounds like something got the roots; gophers? Fireblight usually starts at a branch tip and works its way down. Check the trunk by the graft union also for borer damage, scratching the bark to see if there's sawdust under it. If so, the borer girdled the tree. Either way I'm almost certain your tree is toast. |
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| This year in my NH yard and garden, both the voles and moles are rampant. If the voles ate the roots, the tree most likely will die, but I would take my hands and press the soil around the tree to see if there are mole tunnels. If so, press the soil to firm and water well, and your tree may recover. This year I have found several plants wilting due to having their roots exposed to air by mole tunnels. Perhaps the grubs are particularly bad this year and so are attracting more moles, but I don't recall ever having as many issues with moles before. Watering with a mix of a tablespoon or two of caster oil per gallon of water (or I even found caster oil in a hose end sprayer at Home Depot) helps make the area less attractive to moles and voles. |
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- Posted by NHAppleOrchard none (My Page) on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 10:51
| Thanks for the replies. Good things for me to look into! I had a professional take a look and he confirmed it's fireblight. So the trees have been pulled and destroyed. I'm hoping and praying now the rest of the orchard doesn't get infected!!! So far so good... |
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