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tfiks

dying Marionberry canes

tfiks
9 years ago

Help! My two-yr-old Marionberry plants are dying. I first noticed one long new cane dying in mid-August. As you can see in the picture, it just seems to be wilting. All the other new canes around it were doing fine. Now the majority of the canes are wilting too. I've irrigated lightly and raspberry plants in the vicinity are doing fine.
Anybody have any ideas?

Comments (7)

  • tfiks
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here one can see the contrast between the healthy and dying canes. In the background are some of this year's Tualameen raspberry canes which also seem to dying off. My other raspberries are doing fine and a hybrid wild/domestic blackberry is doing fine.

  • jtburton
    9 years ago

    Tulameen are highly susceptible to phytophthora root rot, so that might also explain the marionberry wilting. I grow marionberry plants in Kentucky and we have had a really wet year which has caused a lot of fungal infections. All of my marionberry plants and raspberries are in raised beds due to my poor soil drainage. So far, I haven't had this problem with them or my other trailing blackberries.

    There of course could be other problems too but generally when a plant goes down like yours it often has something to do with the soil condition.

  • tfiks
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here's a close-up of one of the leaves.

  • tfiks
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    ...and here's a close-up of a leaf from the cane that started wilting first.

  • jtburton
    9 years ago

    I see only one small spot of leaf fungus in the first picture of the leaf (far left purple spot) which would bes normal in a humid climate like mine. Root rot usually causes the leaves to turn yellow, the plant to wilt, then die. There are some anti-fungal treatments for phytophthora root rot but long term you usually need to replant with a variety that is highly resistant to root rot or plant in raised beds to help with the soil drainage. Again assuming that's the problem. Cascade Delight and Prelude raspberries are highly resistant to phytophthora root rot.

  • tfiks
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks so much. I'm going to see if I can get ahold of the the extension service here and see if phytophthora is typically found in the Pacific NW.

  • larry_gene
    9 years ago

    The first leaf close-up has a bit of mosaic virus, this usually does not become a problem.

    When all leaves on a length of berry cane wilt while green, the water flow through the plant has been interrupted. This can be a severe kink in the cane or other physical damage, such as a late-season borer insect.

    I would look to see if the marion cane is damaged. If the leaf closest to the ground is wilted or brown, the problem may be in the roots, but blackberries do not typically have this problem here.

    This summer has not been a good time to irrigate caneberries lightly, but that does not explain your healthy raspberries. Hope the extension service is helpful.

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