Bacteria Canker: Recommendations wanted

11 years ago

Hello, I have always had alittle canker in my orchard, but it was never a big issue until this year. In 2011 we had 2X the normal rainfall with extensive flooding, which killed most of my peaches and number of my plums (heavy soil with the water level at the top of the soil for many weeks). Many of the surviving plums were weakened and this year canker exploded, killing whole trees, or large leaders, and multiple trees with goo spots on the main trunks, as well as leasions on smaller branches.

What should I do? I am cutting all the dead wood out, and trimming the smaller leasions, but should I cut out the leasions and spray them with bleach on the main trunks as well A planting of Cherries (raised bed) on Gielsa 5 have goo where the graft tree was cut on every tree.

THanks, Eric

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

windfall_rob
11 years ago
Sorry to hear that your orchard is taking such a hit Eric. Were you able to get a crop this year or did the crazy spring take it? It has been a rough few years for extreme weather locally....and in many other places it seems.

I have no experience with canker but hopefully someone who does will offer up their thoughts.

good luck with it
plumhillfarm
Original Author
11 years ago
About half the trees had no fruit due to the march weather (85 degrees followed by 18) no cherries at all, and an intersting mix of early and late blooming trees with no fruit.
Related Professionals
Clark Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Foothill Ranch Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Chattanooga Landscape Contractors · Firestone Landscape Contractors · Fort Payne Landscape Contractors · Hannibal Landscape Contractors · Lewisville Landscape Contractors · Live Oak Landscape Contractors · Melrose Park Landscape Contractors · Mission Viejo Landscape Contractors · Oak Forest Landscape Contractors · Ringwood Landscape Contractors · Rio Linda Landscape Contractors · Rosemount Landscape Contractors · West Allis Landscape Contractors
Scott F Smith
11 years ago
Wow that sounds horrible. I don't have any experience with such a bad outbreak but I can throw out a few guidelines. Have you been putting copper / agrimycin down? You should have done several copper/agrimycin sprays in the fall, thats when the disease is most vulnerable. I would go out and do a spray right now if you did not do it in the fall (well, on the next warm enough day). Come spring I would do several sprays of copper/agrimycin until it is no longer possible - start with delayed dormant and look up how late you can spray copper (on peaches I have gone thru shuck split - you may get some leaf damage but its a price worth paying). Also use a sticker such as nufilm to keep the copper on longer. I would also mix up the sprays and look into Fosphite sprays to mix with other tanks - this stuff will fry any bacteria it contacts. Serenade is another thing to throw into the mix. Some canker strains are resistant to copper and probably some are developing resistance to agrimycin so its good to use multiple spray materials. I had a bad outbreak of bacterial spot, it was defoliating all my stone fruits, but an intensive spray program eventually cleared it up. I believe a key was a serious fall spray program, thats when disease is most vulnerable. So right after leaf fall get things thoroughly coated.

Scott
olpea
11 years ago
Eric,

That is bad luck. Losing trees is so much worse than simply losing the crop. Especially plum trees since some of them take a while to come into production.

The only thing I would add to Scott's post is that you might fertilize(N) a little heavier until you can get through this. Vigor is an enemy of canker.

You've gotten all our rain. Here, for the last two years summers have been dry, dry, dry.