Author Topic: Whats wrong with my grafted citrus tree or Should I worry?  (Read 564 times)

Tony714

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Whats wrong with my grafted citrus tree or Should I worry?
« on: January 02, 2023, 06:34:22 PM »
Hi guys,

My grafted tree was fine but last year it was not good.  It produced very little oranges and tangerines.  They are smaller then previous years and have black darken skin.  But lemon is OK. 
I sprayed foliage  2x a year in spring and summer.  I also feed 8-6-8 fertilizer every month.   I water lot every week from pond water.  Is anyone know what's wrong with my tree and should I worry?

Thank you
Tony








sc4001992

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Re: Whats wrong with my grafted citrus tree or Should I worry?
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2023, 01:58:11 AM »
It looks like black sooty mold fungus. If you wipe it with a paper towel it should wipe off. The tree is getting infected with pest infestations that causes this. I have seen it on some trees where it usually is on both the leaves and fruits. Lucky for me none of my citrus trees had this issue, but I have seen it on other people's citrus trees.

You can look up sooty mold fungus online and there are many ways to get rid of the problem. I would not eat those fruits with the mold.

Tony714

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Re: Whats wrong with my grafted citrus tree or Should I worry?
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2023, 05:14:27 PM »
great.  thank you for your input.

Galatians522

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Re: Whats wrong with my grafted citrus tree or Should I worry?
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2023, 10:21:47 PM »
The last picture especially reminds me of rust mite damage. Its hard to tell appart from sooty mold in a picture, but as was mentioned sooty mold will mostly wipe off with a good scrubbing the rust mite damage will not. I believe sulfur spray will kill the mites. But, they cause the damage when the fruit is still small, so it won't do anything for this year's crop.  I have never suffered any from eating fruit with sooty mold. Its just on the peel.