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Fruit & Orchards

Apple tree trunk has problems!

Steve D (IL 5b/6a)

8 years ago

New fruit tree enthusiast here. The wife and I went crazy and got a bunch of semi-dwarf trees from a local orchard as well as container-grown younger trees from a garden center.

We have a semi-dwarf apple tree that has some unhealthy looking stuff happening around its trunk. Some areas are yielding if you squeeze them, there are strips of bark that appear torn (chewed?) off, and there is orange stuff next to the trunk almost as if something bored into the trunk and made a pile of wood shavings.

I'm expecting the worst, but would like to know what went wrong and how to avoid it in the future. Info and advice appreciated!

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Comments (5)

jean001a
8 years ago
Possibly a graft failure.

Is the top healthy?
fireduck
8 years ago
Two things come to mind. 1. Was that tree repeatedly hit with a weed whacker when it was young? 2. Borers can get inside and bore outward...wrecking the insides of the main trunk. I jjust cut down my unhealthy "Anna"...and it was hollowed out inside by borers.
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Sunscald is the most likely cause, but there are other ways sections of tissue can die. Fungus decays the dead tissue over summer. A healthy tree walls off the dead tissue, so hopefully the fungus dies out after the dead tissue is consumed. The result is a canker spot like the one i n the picture. Some people bridge graft over extensive cankers on trunks, but I think that one will be okay as long as it doesn't get more damage on the good side. You might want to checkout the recent post on trunk protection. Here is a link that might be useful: Trunck Protection
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what kind of cat.. a puma??? i know you peeps in TX do things big.. but crikey ... need a better pic... i am not understanding up and down.. and i dont understand... why it looks like you lost a quarter inch of trunk material ... your pic is sideways here.. but when i click ... it straightens ... but the larger part of the trunk is up ... and i just cant tell whats going on .. daylight.. and an extra pic of the whole might also help .... regardless... it doesnt look good ... ken EDIT ,.. there is a very active fruit forum also ... This post was edited by ken_adrian on Fri, Dec 19, 14 at 17:33
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I'm not an expert, so you will have to google it unless someone else chimes in. But those are aerial burr knots which m111 are prone to grow. My trees are 10 years old and they have outgrown them, I.e., it has not been an issue. No pun intended. I did have to battle knot borers but the latex paint wash at the base helped. It is less of an issue now as the trunks are bigger
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Kelly: Can you post a photo of the damage? If you just planted a 5' tree last spring it would still be a small tree. Is the area you are cutting into the graft union? Just asking as apples are usually budded or grafted onto a rootstock at or slightly above ground level. Lawnmowers and string trimmers are bad for young trees as they can damage the bark at the base of the tree. I would say if your tree has 50% of the base damaged or less then tree should be ok. If over 50% of the trunk is damaged in circumference it may be a lost cause. Air born canker? Malignant? Please do post a photo. I have seen collar rot, fireblight ect. A photo of the area in question will help for anyone to try to provide good answers to your questions.
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Douglas Rudisill
8 years ago
I notice how close your mulch is to trunk. Small animals and insects play havoc in winter around base of my trees so I don't put mulch so close to truck base.
Steve D (IL 5b/6a)
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for your comments. I've attached more pictures. The top looks so-so. Actually, the leaves seem better than a month ago when they had more brown splotches. It has been hot here in Chicago, and I think some of them are sunburned. The tree is several years old - we planted it in its current spot 3 months ago. It actually bore 3 apples on one of the grafts this summer. We probably should have not let it bear the fruit, but we couldn't resist.

I'm not sure about the weed whacking possibility. We didn't notice any damage when we purchased it from the orchard.

You are right about the mulch - I have moved it farther away. I have seen ants around the base of the trunk, and also squirrels in the tree itself.

Thanks again for your thoughts.
Steve D (IL 5b/6a)
Original Author
8 years ago
Here's some more info about this problem for those who may be interested. Apparently it is a bad idea to plant apples near serviceberries due to borer issues...

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3387485/m=23/found-this-larva-in-my-apple-tree-trunk-could-it-be-the-problem

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