Fruit trees of all types are susceptible to various problems that cause the tree to turn brown. Not only is this unpleasing to look at but also it is a sure sign that something is wrong with the fruit tree. Knowing the cause of the discoloration will allow you to treat the specific problem and restore the fruit tree to its healthy state. Show
Drought
Over Fertilization
Frost Damage
Diseases
Dieback is a progressive death of fruit tree branches and twigs caused by various diseases. Trees may suffer initial decline but ultimately survive, or they may die within a year. Generally, these diseases infect mature trees compromised by poor health or environmental stresses. Because weaker trees have lower disease resistance, they are unable to fend off pathogenic attack. Symptoms
Fungal Diseases
Bacterial Diseases
Disease Management
Fruit trees are a great addition to any garden. However, when they’re dying it’s hard to watch all that effort go down the drain – especially if you don’t know offhand what’s causing them to die. What kills fruit trees – and how do you fix it? Fruit trees die due to one or more of six classes of issues. Each class has between one and dozens of causes and fixes. The problem must be diagnosed, reversed, and addressed in a timely manner to save the affected fruit trees. Here are 40-plus issues and common fixes to save afflicted fruit trees. Ready to figure out what’s afflicting your fruit tree? Let’s find out what it is – and then let’s also talk about the proper fix. Our fledgling orchard. We planted apple, pear, cherry, peach, and apricot trees.The 40-plus Reasons Your Fruit Trees are DyingWhile there may be one main reason your fruit tree is dying, odds are that there are actually several factors at play. And while addressing the main issue may help, addressing all of the issues will fix things far better – and faster. Even so, let’s start by looking at the six classes of reasons fruit trees die, based on the information I found in my research. Let’s also look at how many possible problems exist in each category, their definition, and a baseline look at appropriate remedies.
In my experience, there’s going to be some invisible (or totally visible) overlap between the categories. For example, overwatering is an abiotic issue that will need to be addressed. If it goes too long without being fixed, though, you’ll have more than a single problem. You’re also going to need to deal with rots, fungus, snails, and weeds. So as you’re finding issues, fix them – but then know the other issues so that you can watch for them and fix them before you lose any more fruit trees. Symptoms of a Dying Fruit TreeSpeaking of sick and dying fruit trees, let’s take a quick step back and make sure we know what those look like. That way, we aren’t trying to fix a nonexistent problem.
If you’re keeping a regular eye on your fruit trees, you should be able to anticipate problems and prevent them – especially if you remember what a sick tree looks like. That way, you can keep your fruit trees plenty healthy – so they will bear lots of fruit. Abiotic Disorders in Fruit Trees (with Fixes)Abiotic disorders are non-pathogenic, non-living stressors and problems that impact your fruit trees. Abiotic disorders are most usually related to environmental issues or gross user error. In other words, the best way to treat abiotic issues is to increase your gardening education. Then, adjust how you manage your garden to reflect that increased knowledge and address environmental factors as needed. So let’s go through the abiotic disorders – and how to fix them.
While all of these abiotic disorders may not be big problems in your area, that’s okay. Become familiar with the ones that will affect you – and learn to watch for them. Then, take good care of your trees. Or if you don’t have your trees planted yet, make sure you learn the right way to prepare the soil and area for them. For example, here’s how to get ready and plant citrus trees. For example, there aren’t many evergreen fruit trees that grow well here in Utah. We don’t have any holly trees (or any evergreen trees) in our yard. But learning about winter desiccation will still help me be a better backyard homesteader and gardener, so I was just fine learning about it. What to Do About Insects Damaging Fruit TreesThere are millions and millions of species of insects – but let’s not count every single one. For one, that would make this article insanely long. Plus, it would make this article dated the moment that another species get discovered and cataloged. So instead, let’s focus on some commonly-found insects, arthropod-related damage, and how to fix things so that your fruit tree keeps growing (and producing) well.
Again, this list is by no means exhaustive. You may want to check with your local agricultural university’s extension to see if they have a list of common pests and insects in your area. And check to see what’s natural to your location versus what’s invasive. I saw something like the brown marmorated stink bugs in my garden last year – and they’re invasive and should be reported. So I’ll keep an eye out this year. And if that was them, I’ll be sure to report them to the University. How to Identify and Fix Fruit Tree Diseases and BlightsDiseases and blights can be caused by all sorts of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and organisms. They can be spread by insects, the wind, nearby trees, or other vectors. So, let’s go over some of the diseases you absolutely need to know about.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the potential diseases that your fruit trees could have – it’s just some of the most common ones, especially in backyard homestead orchards. For a more extensive list of potential tree diseases, pictures, and fixes, go to your local agricultural university’s extension. Or, check out my preferred reference via Utah State University’s ornamental pest guide. Click on diseases to access their picture-based guide to fruit tree diseases. This is a screenshot-style sneak peek at how it looks. That index will also let you look up every other type of pest – and has a great picture guide. Or, grab the downloadable PDF version! It’s a fantastic resource to have on hand for any backyard homestead orchard and garden. As far as the diseases I’ve seen, the worst one by far so far is fire blight. With that, we did everything right to try to save the afflicted pear tree – and it still died. So based on my research and experience, be aggressive in treating that one. Even then, you may not be able to save your fruit tree. However, you can prevent it from spreading to your other trees – and that’s worth doing. How to Identify and Fix Mollusc-related Fruit Tree ProblemsSnails are only fun if you’re a kid who’s searching for shells. Otherwise, they’re a pain in the posterior – a pain that eats all kinds of foliage and does damage to trees. Granted, if you’ve only got a few snails, they aren’t a big issue – they’re just a nuisance. But if you’ve got lots of snails? Then you’ve got a problem that needs to be fixed. However, using traps or copper strips to try to control the population isn’t enough on its own. The other thing you’ve got to do is address your irrigation issue that’s causing the population boom in snail town. You see, snails love wet soil. So if you’ve got a lot of soil moisture, you’re going to (eventually) develop a snail problem. To fix or prevent snail town from booming, you need to do the following.
In our yard, we’ve had a lot of snails. They prefer the raspberry bushes, but we don’t want them to get to our fruit trees. So we’re taking a proactive approach. We’re changing the soil moisture by adding organic material to our too-clay-like soil. We’re also using mulch to improve the soil and improve drainage. And we’re improving our irrigation to use better deep watering techniques. This way, we’re hoping to stay on top of the snail problem so that snail town doesn’t grow. That way, they’re just a nuisance and the kids can enjoy looking for shells – rather than my fruit trees becoming a casualty. Fruit Tree Problems Caused by VertebratesThere are several vertebrates that pose a danger to fruit trees in general. Most of them are going to be gophers, voles, and other burrowing rodents. These animals will damage root systems, lower trunks, and strip bark right off of fruit trees. You’ll be able to know you have burrowing rodents if you’re able to see burrow holes, runways, or dense areas of heavy ground cover and foliage. When we first moved into our current home, our backyard raspberry patch was severely overgrown. There were several burrow holes, though we couldn’t identify who lived there. It could have been snakes – and we want those garden snakes to stay! Even so, we removed the ground cover and pruned the raspberry patch – and kept an eye on those burrow holes. After a year or two with no visible activity, we decided that the holes were either for a snake or long-abandoned. We covered them with mulch and haven’t had any further issues. But we’ve still had good-snake sightings, so that’s good news for us and keeping any burrowing animal populations under control. In any case, here’s a quick list to help you know how to fix vertebrate (and burrowing rodent) problems under control.
Personally, I’m glad we’ve got the small, safe garden snake option – and that I don’t have to actively manage the rodents. The other main vertebrates who can cause irreparable damage to fruit trees are well-meaning but uninformed people – including children. If your kids like to climb trees, too, you’ll need to have a talk with them about how to climb and care for fruit trees without damaging them. But then we’re getting back into abiotic causes, too. So feel free to go back and review those as needed with friends and kids. That way, they can become fruit tree experts, too. And you won’t have to worry about damaged fruit trees, either. How to Identify and Fix Weed-related Fruit Tree ProblemsWeeds are a problem to fruit trees because they take the nutrients, water, and sunlight that you intend for your tree. But what is a weed? Well – a weed is a plant that you don’t want there. Common weeds include:
Again, your definition of a weed may differ from mine. Personally, I dislike purslanes and dandelions and say they’re weeds. But I know others who purposely grow those because they’re great in salads. So weeds are whatever you don’t want growing there – and that will need to be remedied. So in order to prevent weeds from becoming a threat to your fruit trees, they do need to be addressed, managed, or even removed. How you address them will depend on the type of weed, its size, how hardy it is, and how close it is to your tree. Here are some ways to fix weed-related issues around and related to your fruit trees.
You can use any, some, or all of these methods to control weeds around your fruit trees. Just remember that there’s no permanent weed fix – it’s going to be a constant struggle every year. Oh – and a quick note about getting your kids involved. Do it! My kids love picking dandelion flowers – they think they’re one of my favorite flowers. And while I actually like daisies better, I do love that the dandelion flowers are picked before they can seed and blow off to further infest my garden. Inspecting our fruit trees during the winter.How to Stop a Fruit Tree from Dying and Revive itTo stop a fruit tree from dying, there are three simple steps to follow. They’re simple in theory, anyway.
However, because many issues have a good bit of overlap, you may actually need to find, fix, and evaluate several issues. Then, whether or not your tree recovers will depend on its reserves, root system, how much damage it sustained, the time of year, and a dozen other factors. Remember our pear tree that died of fire blight? We caught the fire blight pretty early – and were fairly aggressive in treating it. Even so, our year-old-Bartlet pear tree wasn’t able to recover. Our other pear tree is just fine, though. So our current plan is to plant a new tree – but we’ll be finding and planting a pear tree with fire blight resistance, thanks! Can You Fix Dying Fruit Trees Organically (without Insecticides and Fungicides)?It is possible to identify, treat, and fix fruit trees organically, but it does take a lot more work to skip the use of insecticides and fungicides. Organic fruit trees will require far more planning and prevention. One of the most important steps in organic gardening is to naturally breed plants for resistance to common blights, diseases, and insect problems. This can be done via cross-breeding, grafting, and other methods. Another option is using an organic-approved system plans to treat the existing fruit tree issues. EOrganic.org, OMRI, and your local university agricultural extension will have lists and great resources for making sure that you can keep things purely organic – while also controlling the problems that would otherwise decimate your fruit trees. Where Can I Get Help Identifying and Fixing Fruit Tree Issues?If you need more help identifying and fixing issues with your fruit trees, I’ve got three solid suggestions for where to turn for help.
The Utah State University extension has a gardening Facebook page that’s super helpful. Experts are constantly being asked for advice, diagnoses, and the like. People who need help simply need to ask their questions and upload images to get the requested help. It’s pretty awesome – so go find your extension or gardening support group now. And hopefully, I’ll see you there! ResourcesIt’s important to learn from your own experience, but it’s also smart to learn from others. These are the sources used in this article and in our personal research to be more informed as homesteaders.
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