Mamey Sapote Bark Disease?

[Tropicalgrower89]

Hello fellow tropical fruit enthusiasts. I am having these weird issues with my mamey sapote trees that seems to be affecting the bark and even the small fruits. It seems that the fruits just pop off in clean chunks (no bite or scratch marks anywhere) and I'm also having portions of the bark in some spots bubbling upward and peeling off. Both the pantin and the viejo exhibits this problem. I used to have an 8 year old pace mamey tree that never held fruit until maturity, but I lost a whole crop of grape sized fruits to this weird problem. That tree got the axe treatment since it was very finicky compared to my other mamey trees (used to get much more easily drought stressed).  I wonder if this just some typical random issue or is this some sort of a fungal disease or mineral deficiency. Both trees are growing very vigorously and the leaves look healthy. Here are some pics of the pantin and the last pic is an affected fruit:

[johnb51]

Maybe if you gave Julian Lara a call, he could advise you.  He probably knows more about mamey sapote than anyone else.

[Cookie Monster]

Grasping at straws here -- any chance it could be sunburn? Heavily pruned trees can sunburn if not provided with shade.

The cuban may beetle literally killed my pace . They would defoliate it completely and then devour the newly emerging foliage. (Younger trees can't normally take two complete foliage losses in succession.) That was the only mamey that was close to the property line (neighbors have grass and hence loads of cuban may beetle grubs). All the others, which are away from the prop line, are doing great.

I think my "pantin" is actually a viejo, which as it turns out is an absolutely awesome mamey -- small-statured, strong bearer, very precocious, and quite good. Pantin has an edge in terms of flavor, but as you've pointed out, they are really finicky! I've lost 2 so far, one after a week of heavy rains (in well drained soil no less) and the other due to cuban may beetles. I've talked to others who've expressed the same sentiment about the pace.

If you're having problems with mamey not holding fruit, it's very likely a nutritional issue. Try giving it a good fertilizer with nitrogen. The 8-2-12 that Truly Tropical carries is magic.

[Tropicalgrower89]

Grasping at straws here -- any chance it could be sunburn? Heavily pruned trees can sunburn if not provided with shade.

The cuban may beetle literally killed my pace . They would defoliate it completely and then devour the newly emerging foliage. (Younger trees can't normally take two complete foliage losses in succession.) That was the only mamey that was close to the property line (neighbors have grass and hence loads of cuban may beetle grubs). All the others, which are away from the prop line, are doing great.

I think my "pantin" is actually a viejo, which as it turns out is an absolutely awesome mamey -- small-statured, strong bearer, very precocious, and quite good. Pantin has an edge in terms of flavor, but as you've pointed out, they are really finicky! I've lost 2 so far, one after a week of heavy rains (in well drained soil no less) and the other due to cuban may beetles. I've talked to others who've expressed the same sentiment about the pace.

If you're having problems with mamey not holding fruit, it's very likely a nutritional issue. Try giving it a good fertilizer with nitrogen. The 8-2-12 that Truly Tropical carries is magic.

Sorry to hear about your Pace tree. Those beetles suck. 
Sunburn does  make sense since these lower branches were once shaded by the main portion of the tree which grew really tall. The original tallest part of the Pantin tree that was fully exposed to the harsh sun had pretty bad scarring. Also, the very top branches of the Viejo have the same isolated bubbling bark spots (facing upwards toward the sun).  I've just looked at online pictures of sun burned fruit trees and the type of damage looks very identical to the damage on my mamey trees.  I have been using Lesco 8-10-10 palm and tropical (home depot is around the corner from my house) for the past year for my mameys and they love it.   I've just made the first application of the year on the last week of February and mixed in a bit of gypsum since I have sandy soil for the first time (a bit of calcium supplement). Another thing I've changed is that I am now spreading fertilizer all the way out to the drip line, so more of the feeder roots will get adequate nutrition from the fertilizer application. I am hoping that my consistent fertilization will sweeten up any new fruits that develop on my Viejo tree, cause the only fruit that it held to maturity split on the tree while it was ripening. I thought it was a total loss, but it softened up nicely in the microwave. The color and pulp texture was excellent, but it had no sweetness. I think the lack of fertilization and organic matter throughout that fruit's life had a negative effect on the taste.

[Tropicalgrower89]

Maybe if you gave Julian Lara a call, he could advise you.  He probably knows more about mamey sapote than anyone else.

Sounds like a good idea. I still have his email address, so I can email him the description and the pictures to get another expert opinion.

[Cookie Monster]

OK. A trick that Har taught me is to use the same pruned branches as shade by laying them over the newly exposed areas and leaving them there for a few months.

My viejo mamey were really good, maybe not quite as good as a pace, but close enough.

Make sure you're giving the trees enough fertilizer. My initial mistake was not giving them enough.

Grasping at straws here -- any chance it could be sunburn? Heavily pruned trees can sunburn if not provided with shade.

The cuban may beetle literally killed my pace . They would defoliate it completely and then devour the newly emerging foliage. (Younger trees can't normally take two complete foliage losses in succession.) That was the only mamey that was close to the property line (neighbors have grass and hence loads of cuban may beetle grubs). All the others, which are away from the prop line, are doing great.

I think my "pantin" is actually a viejo, which as it turns out is an absolutely awesome mamey -- small-statured, strong bearer, very precocious, and quite good. Pantin has an edge in terms of flavor, but as you've pointed out, they are really finicky! I've lost 2 so far, one after a week of heavy rains (in well drained soil no less) and the other due to cuban may beetles. I've talked to others who've expressed the same sentiment about the pace.

If you're having problems with mamey not holding fruit, it's very likely a nutritional issue. Try giving it a good fertilizer with nitrogen. The 8-2-12 that Truly Tropical carries is magic.

Sorry to hear about your Pace tree. Those beetles suck. 
Sunburn does  make sense since these lower branches were once shaded by the main portion of the tree which grew really tall. The original tallest part of the Pantin tree that was fully exposed to the harsh sun had pretty bad scarring. Also, the very top branches of the Viejo have the same isolated bubbling bark spots (facing upwards toward the sun).  I've just looked at online pictures of sun burned fruit trees and the type of damage looks very identical to the damage on my mamey trees.  I have been using Lesco 8-10-10 palm and tropical (home depot is around the corner from my house) for the past year for my mameys and they love it.   I've just made the first application of the year on the last week of February and mixed in a bit of gypsum since I have sandy soil for the first time (a bit of calcium supplement). Another thing I've changed is that I am now spreading fertilizer all the way out to the drip line, so more of the feeder roots will get adequate nutrition from the fertilizer application. I am hoping that my consistent fertilization will sweeten up any new fruits that develop on my Viejo tree, cause the only fruit that it held to maturity split on the tree while it was ripening. I thought it was a total loss, but it softened up nicely in the microwave. The color and pulp texture was excellent, but it had no sweetness. I think the lack of fertilization and organic matter throughout that fruit's life had a negative effect on the taste.