# Farm with Diseased and dying trees, need help!



## Lusi (Aug 8, 2011)

Hi,

I just bought a 5 acre farm that has diseased or infested trees. I could use some help finding what is killing them and how to get rid of it, or which trees are too far gone.

Here is a list of trees I recognize (I'm not a CA native), but there are others I don't. We have many English and Black Walnut, Almond, Plum, 2 types of Cherry Plum, cherry, grapefruit, pear, Juniper (maybe), birch, oak and an Oak-like leaf, but mini sized, and a very sorry Juniper perhaps. Is blooming with a handful of sad pink flowers and a few berries. The rest I can't identify. Should mention there is a huge infestation of ground squirrels that are making the banks collapse.

1) We have an insect infestation of bugs I can't find. The closest in appearance is the Box Elder bug. The thing is, we have no Box Elders! They are everywhere underfoot, on the entire property. I see them in the plum and cherry tree and around all my veggies and flowers. I have no idea what they are eating as everything is getting chewed up. They were breeding all the month of July. I fear the results and need to identify the insect, what it eats, where it lays eggs, and what kills it. During July, literally each step I took squashed a breeding pair. This can't be good!

2) The Almond trees are in bad shape. The trunks looks like they are shot gun pellets with the surface in ordered rows. The bark is darker than the few healthy branches. Even those branches have rows of perfect holes. The foliage is stunted and there is no sign of Almonds. There are a few old Almonds still in the branches. Each one has a hole bored in it with a plum colored slime or shiny substance around the holes and inside. Only a few trees have healthy branches at all! What is going on!!?

3) The Black Walnut trees look worse than the English Walnut. The trunks on some look wrong, like disease or fungus with spots of silver and green fungus or moss and thick twisted bark. All trees have signs of things chewing on the leaves, but the Walnut trees are the least. It looks like some of the Walnuts have dark spots, like blight. others are speckled green and yellow. A few have all yellow walnuts, often with the nearest leaves yellow too. (All Black W) All the trees have odd trunks, especially the English Walnut that has Black Walnut branches coming out at the ground level. The bottom of the trunks are not the same as the rest, rough and thicker. Are they grafted?! Weird.

4) The plum trees have something eating the leaves and brown spots on the fruit. Everything eats the plums. Cherry tree is looking the same. The birds got every single cherry. 

5) The two types of Oak have mistletoe and other things that twist the bark. The leaves are full of spots and holes. The one with mini leaves has dried walnut sized fruits or fungus growing from the branches.

If any of this sounds familiar, let me know. I can also take photos, though the box elder bug-like insects move too fast to get a clear pic. None of the photos and descriptions in my books look like what I see. A good website with photos would really help me out too! 

Thanks!


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## Urban Forester (Aug 8, 2011)

That diverse specie list is rarely "attacked" by a single insect. If they are boxelder bugs they are more a pain in the a--, than a real pest. Yes, photos would be a big help. Try webshots, then post the link.


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## Castenea (Aug 12, 2011)

I agree with Urban Forster this is unlikely to be any single causal agent. Some trees are likely to have several. Unfortunately I am not familar with the pest of California.

The regular holes on the branches and trunks of the almonds could be Sapsuckers (a woodpecker). There are a number of fungal diseases of Cherries, plums and almonds that are grouped under the name shot hole disease (from the damage to leaves).

Bring the bugs (in a sample jar or ziplock bag) to your county extension agent, they should be able to ID the insect and tell you what it feeds on and what will control it.


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