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alpharetta_gw

what caused my Pluot tree died?

alpharetta
16 years ago

I bought Pluot combo tree from RainTree 2 years ago. The tree just died this summer. There are lot of liquid came from the tree trunk and be come resin around the trunk. Something eating my tree? I wish I could post the picture for clarification, but I don't know how to post the picture in this forum. I do have pictures...

Any suggestion will be appreciated

Thanks

Alpharetta

Comments (7)

  • Embothrium
    16 years ago

    What you saw is called gummosis. Multiple possible causes, more information needed to know what might have happened in this particular instance.

  • alan haigh
    16 years ago

    Even though the tree died in the middle of summer it may have suffered serious cambium damage in the spring. I'm not knowlegdable of the specific parentage of pluots though I'm very suspicious of Zeiger's claim that they are actually a cross of both fruits. The ones I've had taste 100% red Japanese plum and many of the best Jap reds are highly susceptible to cambium injury where there are real winters and hard early spring frosts. For that matter so are cots.

    Replace it with a Methely plum if you want to be assured longevity and fairly reliable harvests. Many of the Pluots suck for east coast although Adam's County Nursery is pushing a couple of the selections.

  • alpharetta
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    OK. I managed to post the picture of my Pluot on the web - Yahoo Blog. Can anybody look into the picture and let me know what cause my Pluot died?? and how to prevent the issue for the future Pluot??

    http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-_j_GxCIhc68c21vBVEHvkMIFMxY-?cq=1

    Thanks
    Alpharetta.

  • murkwell
    16 years ago

    alpharetta,

    I don't know what's wrong with your plum tree, but I enjoyed the captions and the explanation about growing fruit trees with your children so they can love Mother Nature.

    I don't know how old the picture of the peach tree is, and maybe you've already taken care of it, but it looks like it has a pretty vigorous root sucker competing with the tree. You'll probably want to prune that off.

  • jellyman
    16 years ago

    Alpharetta:

    It's a little hard to make a firm diagnosis on your tree, even with a photograph, but it appears to me that the tree may have suffered some mechanical or physical trunk damage, perhaps from a lawn tractor or a buck deer. This may have opened the way for a bacterial infection (bacterial canker) as Raintree Nursery has suggested. Bacterial canker is a very common problem in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast states, and I have taken out a fair number of stone fruit trees that became unhealthy due to this disease. It is a little unusual for this disease to develop on such a young tree, unless it first suffered some damage to open the way for infection. The gummosis suggested by B-boy is a disease with a very similar appearance, but fungal in origin instead of bacterial. I really can't tell the difference between these two diseases by looking at them. Both have the same symptoms, which are bleeding of sap and poor overall health, ending in limb dieback or death of the tree.

    I agree with you that pluots are delicious fruits, and have tried to grow two varieties here, and one aprium, but after keeping the trees over 10 years I eventually gave up. These fruit varieties, which were developed in California, are just too difficult to grow where there are hot, humid summers. Disease problems were one reason, but difficulty in pollination was another. When you do get a few pluots on the trees, they are extremely attractive to the oriental fruit moth, which will ruin every fruit unless they are constantly sprayed. I reached the same conclusion about nectarines, and have taken out all those trees too, but I can grow very good peaches and some types of plums with much less difficulty. The peaches do require some protection of the fruit from the oriental fruit moth by spraying or bagging in shoe store try-on footies.

    I agree with Murky that the shoot on the left side of your peach photo appears to be very low in origin, and may be a rootstock shoot. Often, rootstock growth will set peaches, but they will not be the same quality as the grafted variety. I would cut that shoot off, although the other larger shoot doesn't look quite right either, since it branches off so low. Was this tree cut off at some time or did it suffer freeze damage? It appears that it may have lost its grafted scion entirely. I had a peach tree die back at the graft, and when it re-grew from the rootstock the peaches it produced were not good at all, and I eventually took the tree out and replanted.

    You are doing very well with your English, and your question is quite clear and understood, but we would normally say "What caused my Pluot tree to die?", or "Why did my Pluot tree die?" I appreciated your photos and captions too.

    Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

  • alpharetta
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks You all for the follow-up messages.

    I fixed the tittle in this post. I will replace the pluot with apple combo tree. Does the doctor say eating one apple everyday to not see him any more? Of course I have to learn how to prevent the Bacterial canker and Gummosis in the first place.

    I am going to cut the root stockshoot. I was keeping it with the thought that it will produce different peach fruits... I bought the Peach from Home Depot. It's about 3 years old and has not been prunned yet. The tree never been cut off, and did suffer hard frost in April 2007.

    Thanks and Best Regards
    Alpharetta.

  • murkwell
    16 years ago

    The sucker may produce peaches eventually like Don said, and if you are curious about them and want to see how they come out, then keep it and see how you like them.

    Its just likely that they won't be very good to eat, and they make the tree more crowded and less pretty. Its your decision.

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