Brogdon Avocado - branch dieback

[johnsonw]

Hello!

I have a brogdon avocado tree that has been doing very well and yielded 8 avocados this year for the first time. I've noticed that many of the smaller branches have turned brown and died. Today, however, I noticed that one of the branches is half dead and half alive and i'm beginning to wonder if it is spreading. Otherwise, the tree looks very healthy (to me at least) and has grown exceptionally well for a little over 2 years. I'm hoping this is just a normal process but part of me wonders if this could be due to a fungal infection. Can any avocado experts take a look at the below image and let me know your thoughts? Thank you for your time!



Regards,

Will

[Mark in Texas]

Hello!

I have a brogdon avocado tree that has been doing very well and yielded 8 avocados this year for the first time. I've noticed that many of the smaller branches have turned brown and died. Today, however, I noticed that one of the branches is half dead and half alive and i'm beginning to wonder if it is spreading. Otherwise, the tree looks very healthy (to me at least) and has grown exceptionally well for a little over 2 years. I'm hoping this is just a normal process but part of me wonders if this could be due to a fungal infection. Can any avocado experts take a look at the below image and let me know your thoughts? Thank you for your time!



Regards,

Will

It could be a fungus, but......

Had a similar situation with an Oro Negro and a few others.  Sent sticks off to U. of Fl. lab for analysis.  Came back benign.  Apparently mine was a cultural issue, at least that's what the staff wrote.  Haven't seen it in years.  My trees are on steroids and very healthy.  Some branch dieback is normal and usually stops at a crotch or junction.

[Vernmented]

Totally normal. It is all lower branches. It happens across many cultivars if not all that I have worked with.

[pineislander]

I get this too an old timer told me to cut them off since they remain as a disease reservoir so I do that. Your tree looks healthy but best practice seems to be regenerating part of the tree annually by pruning to keep it healthy and control size for picking. Pruning stimulates growth and should be done asap after fruiting to set up the fresh growth ready to flower in spring. When you prune now you will be amazed at how it suddenly will bud out fresh. I did some 2 months ago which have flushed 2 feet of new growth. I cut some tops, some tips and a few branches 1/2 way, but all immediately began to grow fast. Don't be afraid to prune avocado unless it gets close to January.

[johnsonw]

Thank you for the response everyone; very helpful! I’ll go ahead and remove those dead branches and continue to monitor it. I typically don’t apply any pesticides or fungicides to this tree as it’s done very well. Does this seem like a good course of action or would it be beneficial to spray copper as a preventative?

[johnsonw]

Quick update... I don’t knowl why I didn’t think of this but it makes sense. The branches inside the tree are naturally aborted because they don’t receive enough light for leaf production: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=17701

I think I’ll let it continue its course without interference as it seems healthy otherwise. Thanks again everyone.