Knowledgebase
Peach tree issue #344140
Asked July 18, 2016, 11:27 AM EDT
We had a client send in photos of a Reliance peach tree in Cove, Oregon. It is exhibiting symptoms of what we believe is either a nutrient deficiency or X disease. We are hesitant to claim X disease without a second opinion, since the "solution" is to remove the tree. The clients are planning to do a soil test soon. Here is the email I received from the client with more info:
The tree is planted on flat ground, in pasture land behind our house. It receives full sun - no shade at all.
We purchased it from [a local nursery], but they picked it up from a retail nursery in Hermiston. We haven't talked with them but plan to do so.
We have not fertilized the soil. (The soil looked great when we dug the hole, but we haven't had it tested & will do that.)
We planted the tree in late May. As you'll recall, May was a rather cool month, but I don't remember it being particularly cool or wet around the time that we planted. We had a trip out of town in mid-June, and I had noticed that some of the leaves were getting red before we left; it was looking a bit sickly. (So, symptoms were showing up about 2 wks after we
planted.) By the end of June, about a month after planting, it was much worse.
We've been trying to diagnosis the problem ourselves but have also found it to be perplexing. The red spots on the leaves look sort of like dried blood. I read about one disease where red spots on leaves have white centers, but we haven't noticed white centers ... and I saw photos of another disease where the leaves have swollen, nodule-type bumps that are red-ish, but the red spots on our tree's leaves are flat & not lumpy.
Also, the overall color is becoming increasingly yellowish. (I actually noticed the overall yellow cast before I noticed the red spots.)
The red holes do eventually fall out giving the "shot hole" appearance.
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Shannon Gray
Union County Oregon
Expert Response
Abiotic problems would be high on my list such as lack of water and winter injury. The grass in the background of the images is long and dark green. It suggests that there is plenty of water and nutrients in the soil. Could ask about too much water (leading to root rot which could resemble nutrient problems).
Michigan thinks that Reliance peach is overrated for winter hardiness. I would be looking for cankers on the trunk and/or branches that might lead to the symptoms we see. Cytospora canker is common after winter injury.
Diseases such as peach leaf curl and shothole are ruled out just on the symptoms. Peaches will develop shothole symptoms due to a variety of problems and not just disease. The idea of X-disease is possible as it is consistent with the symptoms and has been found in this area in the past.
Bottom line - based on 2 out of focus images - there could be an interruption of the vascular system leading to nutrient deficiency symptoms. Could be anything from root rot, cankers or plugged xylem due to X-disease. Need to do a little more investigation with client.
Hope that helps.
