What's infecting my Fuji apple tree?

9 years ago

Aside from these white, fuzzy patches at the bottom of the trunk, the tree appears healthy. I get delicious fruits every year. The tree is about 20' tall.
Thanks,
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Featured Answer

appleseed70

9 years ago

I knew what it was, but not having had to deal with them didn't know much about it. I read a bit online and as fruitnut said, they are indeed difficult to control. There is one insecticide acephate (Orthene), that kills them.
I understand what fruitnut is saying about not doing anything, but if it were me...I'd do something. I couldn't leave that alone.
I did read that insecticidal soap or dormant oil spray may do the job. Normally, I'm not much for soaps and the like, but in this case I can see where that might just be the ticket. Apparently their waxy bodies protects them quite well.
This may sound silly, but I wonder if you mixed one two of those small 50 cent bottles of Elmer's glue into a quart or so of warm water then added a tablespoon of sulfur if that might do the trick. Maybe forget the sulfur, I just kinda view it as a cure-all and I know it's deadly to aphids. I think the glue would bind them because of their feathery bodies. The glue should be harmless, if not beneficial to the tree.

Anyway, if it sounds goofy forget it...just me sittin' here thinkin'.

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Comments (9)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
9 years ago
That's woolly apple aphid. I have it also and don't do anything for it because they're aren't good controls. You could trim off those low shoots but it won't really make any difference.
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This year is a terrible year for black spot & fungus diseases not to mention bugs. My apple trees look like this also. There are 3 possibilities and probably all 3 are the cause: Fungus, Bugs,& nutrient deficiency. In order I do the following: Use GreenCure, www.greencure.net for the fungus possibility. Two, Liquid Seven for the surface bugs. Yes, I know its a chemical, however, there are very few alternatives in the organic market. Also for the underground bugs, I use beneficial Nematodes to put in the ground. These are microscopic worms that eat the larva & pupa from the inside out and spread. Completely harmless to human and animals, plants. These puppies eat over two hundred different types of bad bugs in the ground. Contact Jennifer at Vammi Beneficials. www.vammibeneficials.com and mention my website link below for a 5% discount on your order. Lastly, the nutrient deficiency. It's too late in your zone to fertilize. Fall will be here tomorrow and I would suggest leaving this alone until next spring. Use some 10-10-10 fertilizer in moderate amounts and wash in thoroughly. Here is a link that might be useful: Green Anything !
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When were these trees planted? To me, they don't look too bad at all. The leaves are curled but still nice and green. If I had to guess I'd say there's a bit of water stress going on. I'd say your trees' root system aren't able to get enough water to keep the leaves from curling, either because there's not enough water or those roots simply aren't established yet. Likely the latter. Don't overdo the watering. I would suggest some slow, deep watering. If you have a 5-gallon bucket, drill a tiny hole on the side near the bottom, fill the bucket, and set it above where the roots are located. Let it drain overnight, the slower the better. You might also find this a good time to do some summer pruning. Those branches look like they could use some cutting way back. That would reduce the workload on the roots and possibly balance your trees' root systems vs their tops. If they were recently planted, the roots likely are behind in development compared to the tops.
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Thank you both for that information. I just went to Stark Bros. website. They say Fuji must be cross-polinated with a different variety and recommended Gala, Braeburn, Golden Delish and a few others. ONly problem was, they're sold out of all the trees they recommended for cross-polination, including the golden delish, but they did have Fuji in stock. So, I went ahead and ordered one Fuji semi-dwarf. They said they will ship in a couple days so I can get it right into the ground and baby it through summer. Then next spring, when Atwood's and Lowe's have tons and tons of golden delish, I'll buy a new one of those. If the Fuji gets to be too much of a pain in the neck to take care of, I guess I could always replace it with another Delicious apple. I hope, what with them being in the front yard, that they will be far enough from cedar but at any time in the future one of my neighbors can decide to landscape with cedar in their front yards and then that'll mess me up. We'll see! We had a hard rain this morning. It overflowed my half-empty mushroom-shaped water tank AND the empty tank I just bought (on sale at Atwood's, and shaped like a barrel on it's side). We just got it hooked up to the downspout on the other side of the house. I'm amazed how much water comes down those downspouts!
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newgen
Original Author
9 years ago
I guess I can just spray it off. Will the aphids harm the tree if left unchecked?
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appleseed70
9 years ago
They can harm the roots. I think malling-merton rootstock was developed in large part to combat wooly aphid infestation. At least I think it was MM...I might be mistaken.
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2010champsbcs
9 years ago
newgen

I have the same problem and appear to mostly have it under control but probable not totally eliminated with homemade insecticidal soap. Spray it whenever it appears . You have a lot going on at the trunk that creates a condition favorable for issues. Spray the area and carefully trim all the excess water sprouts and other items away from the trunk. It is worth a try.
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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
9 years ago
The real issues with woolly aphid are below ground. They infect the roots and cause galls which reduces root function. Anything you do up top won't help the roots. That's the main reason I ignore the problem. But if planting a new tree I'd get one on resistant rootstock. Many of the new Geneva rootstocks are highly resistant.

I've had apples here many yrs on susceptible roots, M9 & M26, and the trees are OK so far. But I've dug up old trees and the roots were highly damaged.
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curtis
9 years ago
one bug option not mentioned is Diatomaceous Earth. It is a powder that kills bugs because at their level it is very jagged and cuts them causing death by dehydration.

Another thing, you said the tree is 20' tall, that is way too tall and looking at the trunk diameter can easily be pruned back early next spring to get it under control. Do you want to be on a 20' ladder picking and spraying? I'm guessing No, you want it closer to the ground.

When I started on this forum I had a run away tree like yours. Now it is a fat tree with lots of fruit within reach without a ladder.

Pruning is hard to get your mind around at first. Don't take pruning advise from anywhere on the web except here. Every cut should be for a known reason and cut at the right spot. When you understand the concept if is not hard. You can post photos here and get lots of suggestions and explanations as to why.
newgen
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you all, this tree is one of three Fuji apple trees that are in the yard. They're all far away from each other. The other two are not infected. I purposely let this one grow tall to act as a wind block for a carambola tree near it.
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jean001a
9 years ago
The challenge with getting rid of woolly apple aphids is that those on the roots will always repopulate the top growth every growing season.

"Root-infesting populations cannot be controlled with pesticides." See more at the link below -

Here is a link that might be useful: woolly apple aphids
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What's infecting my Fuji apple tree?

appleseed70

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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX

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