Is this Silver Leaf fungi ? or False SL

[gray_bale]

Is this Silver Leaf fungi ? or false Silver Leaf (due to stress)

 

A row of 12 apricots that were pollarded the previous year in mid summer, they looked healthy, but just to dam tall.

 

The summer just gone, the new shoots did not seem to be thriving. Then the drought hit, and the new shoots started dieing off. Any leaves started having the silver effect.

 

I assumed Silver Leaf, but in cutting back any 25mm branches, they did not show any brown staining.

 

Then in the last month they started producing the fungi, all at the same time (see photo).

 

So we spent hours digging them out, by hand. Some were to big to handle, so they were chainsawed in half (see cut photos), and then onto the bonfire.

 

Bearing mind that within the row a couple showed no signs of leaf silvering or any fungi. So these were left

 

Any thoughts please.

 

***Does anybody disinfect, chainsaw, axe or loppers between cutting different prunus trees, to stop cross infecting trees***

***Not only Silver Leaf, but also the likes of Plum Pox virus***

 

[Peasgood]

I can only comment on my experience with apples but I find large cuts (you say you pollarded them) are an almost certain way to introduce silverleaf. I have particularly noticed this when trying to change apple varieties by pollarding and grafting. It is better to replant with the right varieties due to risk of silverleaf.

In my orchards silverleaf infected trees are marked and pruned last and yes I do disinfect between those trees but not between healthy trees. It genuinely does spread very quickly if you go from infected tree to healthy tree without disinfecting.

I don't grub trees just because they show silvering as they can still crop well and have had some definitely recover and go on to live long and happy lives.

I do grub any that show the fungus brackets as yours have. (I am not knowledgable enough to say it is silverleaf but it would be enough for me)