Greetings Mirai Forum, I need assistance identifying what I believe is a fungus that has infected most of my trees. The fungus is noticeable from the small fruiting bodies that emerge from individual leaves and the eventual premature yellowing of leaves starting from the base of the leaf out. Symptoms seem to start right around this time of year and continue into the fall. Attached photos show both the fruiting bodies and leaf damage symptoms.
I first noticed it in the fall of 2019 on some larch and a fir which have, unfortunately, all since died. I started alternate spraying with cooper fungicide and bonide fruit tree fungicide/insecticide (active fungicide is captan) on a regular basis but noticed the issue again last year and ramped up the frequency of spraying. It doesn’t seem to have helped since I’m noticing the fruiting bodies emerging from leaves again this year. It seems to have infected a bunch of different species including Chinese/American elm, mulberry, juniper, hinoki cypress, Japanese maple, cotoneaster, hemlock, azalea, mugo pine, and bald cypress. Essentially it doesn’t seem to be effecting certain species versus others and has spread to more trees this year. The fungicide I’m using is either not effective against whatever this is or I’m still not spraying frequently enough and/or at the right time of year.
Does anyone know what this infestation is and how I can combat it? I know Ryan recommends Clearys 3336 and Mancozeb but without knowing what I’m dealing with I don’t want to start spraying random fungicides again to no improvement. I really don’t want to lose any more trees to this as they’re already stressed from previous infections. Any and all help is super appreciated!
I hope everyone’s trees and doing better than mine
Cheers
@c_troch Yup. Probably one of the lacewing species. The larvae are ferocious aphid eaters. Real cool bugs…Look in google. I try to not use bug spray, unless the tree involved is overwhelmed. Usually aphids… I also love my spiders… Since you use Bonide, I’m surprised they have NOT gone away… Do you have ladybugs, too?
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Your nametag doesn’t say where you are… your microclimate is important… From the photos, all I see is heat problems. Are all of your plants inside? a greenhouse?
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Shade cloth, air flow, and watch water usage. Don’t over water pines.
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Captain is a sulfer derivitive. IF you have a real fungal problem, you probably want to rotate two sprays. Probably daconil and one of the two you mentioned. Fall (after leaf fall) and spring (before bud pops) use the captan. Follow the labels!
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One other thought, DO you live in a suburb that started using chlorine in the drinking water? Might be an issue… Other than a reverse osmosis setup, I have no easy fix for that… rain water storage setups have their own problems…
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Bonsai On!
Don’t think that’s fungus.
Fungus fruiting bodies usually look like black spots on needles, though not in all cases.
I’ve never seen a fungus attack so many species at once.
If you spray too much chemicals that may further weaken the trees, I’d hold off before it kills them.
Take a look at the highlighted parts on the juniper pic sent back.
I see a spider web like thing, that might be spidermites. And what are those white spots on the larch, if it’s not just chem residue that might be
adelgids. If you can’t find any bugs check the soil or water, maybe something is slowly poisoning your trees.
If possible I’d separate the ones that are showing symptoms from the ones that are healthy just to be on the safe side.
--Neil
