blossom wilt/brown rot

[openspaceman]

This tree shows no particular signs of decay, a few hollow branch stubs, but has deteriorated over the last few years with blossom wilt and codling moth resulting in much premature loss of apples. Up till now there have been enough to eat, I often juice the windfalls, the apples do not keep. This year it looks like there will be very few left to fully ripen.

 

First picture 2017 second now. I had made some feeble attempts to prune out the dead shoots.

 

 

Tree was here and mature 45 years ago but is probably much older as the house was built in 1862.

[sime42]

We have a similar thing going on. Much smaller, younger tree and just the blossom wilt, no coddling moth.

 

Until about 4 years ago it was a very productive tree, it's been declining since then, but always had some fruit. Non this year. All the flowers browned off before they could set even.

 

Following some good advice given on another thread on here recently about Blossom Wilt, I ruthlessly cut out all the affected growth. The poor tree looks decimated now. I'm hoping it'll do better with fruit next year, though it's not really grown back much yet. The interesting thing is that there's quite a few branches of other apples that I've grafted on over the years, and they don't appear to be infected.

 

[sime42]

[sime42]

Post pruning

[openspaceman]

Thanks, I shall have to cut back really drastically to try and cut off the fungal infected wood. Trouble is I know nothing about fruit trees and if this were another ornamental I would not expect it to recover from this sort of decline and would remove it.

 

Now where is @Peasgood when you want him?

 

PS I would also mention that in the last two years my black mulberry has only produced a handful of fruit whereas it was quite prolific in the past, the flowers seemed to drop early but no sign of shoots wilting.

Edited July 27, 2023 by openspaceman

[sime42]

 

[Stere]

Ive had the same or related strain of fungi on my plums for several yrs but it seems alot worse this yr  and I have noticed alot  more of it  about recently in other gardens also on plums.

 

Cutting out all the infected growth is on larger plums trees where near 50%  infected is near impossible

 

Apples that  have seen  infected  are only very  mildly infected compared to the plums.

 

I think some   varieties are more resistant than others as the wild damson/bullace seem immune.

 

I wonder if its weather related or theres a   new more virulent strain about?

 

Had  if before and the trees recovered abit so then in yrs after it was less bad...but this yr its alot worse.

 

 

https://www.niab.com/sites/default/files/imce_uploads/PressOffice/plum-best-practice-guide-blossom-wilt-brown-rot.pdf

Edited July 27, 2023 by Stere

[Peasgood]

8 hours ago, openspaceman said:

Thanks, I shall have to cut back really drastically to try and cut off the fungal infected wood. Trouble is I know nothing about fruit trees and if this were another ornamental I would not expect it to recover from this sort of decline and would remove it.

 

Now where is @Peasgood when you want him?

 

PS I would also mention that in the last two years my black mulberry has only produced a handful of fruit whereas it was quite prolific in the past, the flowers seemed to drop early but no sign of shoots wilting.

My advice is to treat it as you would an ornamental!

[sime42]

Update.

 

So I cut it back even more ruthlessly earlier this year. There's hardly any branches of the original tree left at all now. Those that are are still suffering from blossom end rot. Albeit less severely I think. The weird thing is that all the various grafts that are on the tree seem completely unaffected, they're romping away in fact. I don't understand how that can be.

 

The poor tree is completely fcked now. If it wasn't for the grafts, (of apples that I particularly selected), I'd cut and remove it completely. As if is, I wouldn't mind leaving it for the sake of those grafts, but the infection appears to be moving further down the tree into the main boughs and trunk.

 

Penny for your thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[openspaceman]

I don't know.

 

I was savage with mine and topped it but left the stem and the fork with no buds, all the regrowth looks fairly healthy, no blossom of course.

 

 

Note the self seeded sedum on the corrugated asbestos cement roof

[sime42]

Interesting. Based on the scant evidence of our two trees then, it looks like degree of savagery is the key to success.

 

Nice Sedum. Doesn't surprise me, asbestos is probably an ideal substrate for it.