Hi team,
So immediately after spring bud break, I noticed one of my five mature cherimoya trees displaying some signs of disease. New buds were deformed, and covered in black spots. Instead of each node giving rise to a single new branch, many deformed branches seemed to form instead. After a few weeks, I was able to thin these deformed branches to encourage better growth. The leaves on these branches were curled, covered in black spots, and deformed overall. After a few more weeks, I noticed the newer growth began to revert back to a healthy shape, size, and the black spots seemed to vanish. It was as if the tree had beat the pathogen. Now, all that’s left is some gnarly fascination on some branches and flowers. However, it seems that the tree is also growing out of this.
My guess is that this is a pathogen, and not an abiotic issue, due to the fact that it was the only tree out of five that has this issue. All trees are from the same stock, and are kept within 6 ft of each other. Trees were pruned in the winter, and I always sterilize my pruners. Trees are thriving in large ceramic pots, and cultural and watering practices are consistent. I live in Santa Rosa, Ca (Zone 10 A). Has anyone seen this before? This one has me stumped! As always, thanks so much for the help!
Ps: Please ignore the awful suckers! This is an older photo and they’ve since been removed.
Topic: Unknown Cherimoya Disease (Read 553 times)