Peach Tree Autopsy

9 years ago

This is a Paul Friday selection PF 35-007 Fat Lady. I bought this tree because of it's reported resistance to bacterial spot. However after talking to Paul Friday himself, I was left with the impression that this resistance is so-so at best.
This would have been the tree's second year but it died about 6 weeks ago. I had seen vole tunneling all around the tree beginning in very early spring. When it died, I suspected vole damage due to it's rapid decline in vigor, wilting, leaf shedding and ultimate death.
I finally got around to digging it out this morning to "autopsy" the roots for suspected vole damage. The results did not disappoint as it was very apparent most roots had been chewed off. Of course, some did get broken during removal, but these are easy to distinguish from the older damage from gnawing.
I hate voles.

Comments (7)

appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
root damage, note nearly all tiny feeder roots are gone.
appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
clear evidence of chew-thru
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appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
roots
appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
in this photo you can see where some roots were broken off during the trees removal. I should have zoomed in better so you could better see the difference between the fresh broken roots and older vole damage. Seems the voles were satisfied after the tree was dead and no longer tunneled around this tree.
appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
last photo
franktank232
9 years ago
Wow..not much for roots there!

I was reading, vole populations can vary and have peaks every so many years (3 to 6?)...i had a huge outbreak of them many years ago (I think i killed 20 that summer), and the past few years i've seen very few (mostly in the late fall trying to get in my garage)...this year (summer) i've killed 10 so far. I use those easy set plastic kill traps baited with small pieces of APPLE. Peanut butter works, but its messy and the ants find it.

I've never seen issues like that. Most of my vole damage is winter gnawing below the snow line.
appleseed70
Original Author
9 years ago
Frank what is the manufacturer of these traps? Cost? Where do you set them. I tried the mouse traps w/peanut butter under a bucket with a brick on top...coons I guess flipped the buckets over. Never caught a thing.