My poorly plum tree pls help

[bargaingirl]

Hi i have a lovely plum tree in my garden which has been doing well for years..then last year it developed these little brown nodules, that you could flick off, but it was covered in them.

 

When the leaves grew they turned blackish in colour and others curled up, no fruit developed.

 

we hosed down the tree but this year the lumpy things are back

 

Pls how can i get rid of them and make my plum tree better.

 

 

uploaded pictures but not sure where they've gone!!!

[Ben90]

They look like scale insects, they feed off sap directly from the tree but I'm not sure if they can do the significant damage that you're describing, I believe a secondary infection might be to blame (something that got in through through the little holes in the tree the insects made while feeding) But I may well be wrong, it looks like a pretty serious infestation and plum trees aren't the most resilient.

 

If you want to control the scale insects, you can buy horticultural oil from farm shops and mix it with water before hosing the tree with it, this oil suffocates the insects. Try to get a good coverage.

 

Continue doing so each time there's an outbreak and see if the tree's condition starts to improve.

 

More adept arbtalkers may correct me, I'm only 20 so my pest and disease knowledge isn't quite up to par yet.

Edited March 24, 2010 by Ben90

[Dean Lofthouse]

Try also mixing the old fashioned Soap flakes with water and spraying it with that

[Acorn Milling Ltd]

Use Morte egg tar oil, you can get this from ant Garden Centre,

[bargaingirl]

cheers guys for advice so far....

 

Ben the bugs seem to be dead they're not moving round!!

 

Dean i sprayed it with soapy water last year! didnt do a thing

 

A milling ltd... apparently mortegg is banned in britain!! is there a substitute? I googled it and it came up with old empty tin on ebay for £23.00! LOL

[Andy Collins]

cheers guys for advice so far....

 

Ben the bugs seem to be dead they're not moving round!!

 

 

I'd say they are dormant, waiting for warmer weather?

[Hogs Breath]

the female scale insect dies after laying eggs which will be the white powder under the old scales.

the soap based insecticides should do the trick but spray regular and frequently to gain the upper hand.

[Dave.G.]

wipe them off a paint brush soaked in meths. Its a long slow job but it does work and they dont seem to return.

[treequip]

If it is a scale insect its’ likely the “nodules” are the dead bodies of last year’s female population. This year’s nymphs are sheltering under them waiting for the leaves to erupt.

 

Big infestations will reduce the vigour particularly in small or heavily pruned trees but the symptoms you describe sound more like a systemic problem. I would suspect a micro fungus.

 

http://www.calu.bangor.ac.uk/Technical%20leaflets/020403plumsanddamson.pdf

[Mesterh]

I think I've heard that using a pressure washer to blast them off can help!

 

Also try attracting birds near to the tree ie hanging fat balls etc so they can eat the scale insect.

[Treeson]

Neem oil is a great natural alternative that I have used to control infestations of scale insects. Where possible soak the root ball with the neem oil mix aswell as foliar spray. Repeat doses will bring the infestation under control, you will still need to physically remove the insects as they will still attach themselves even when dead.

I usually just run my finger along the stems and brush them off.

Good garden centres should stock Neem Tree Oil.