Hickory tree disease - Ask Extension
Our hickory tree has developed this disease last summer. When leaves were down in the fall we thought the disease would not return, but it did. We nee...
Knowledgebase
Hickory tree disease #185866
Asked May 27, 2014, 7:45 PM EDT
Our hickory tree has developed this disease last summer. When leaves were down in the fall we thought the disease would not return, but it did. We need help identifying the disease as well as an effective treatment. This is a young tree and only lower branches are affected. We have pruned them but we are afraid that the problem will continue to expand. Thank you for your help.
Chesterfield County Virginia
Expert Response
What you have is a common leaf gall induced by an insect such as an aphid or parasitic wasp...see http://bedfordmastergardeners.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Insect-Hideouts_Galls_0214.pd... for recommendations. This is not a disease, but is the plants reaction to having a foreign body (the egg) invading it. It responds by encapsulating the object/egg, hence forming the gall.
