purple leafed plum tree disease or pest? - Ask Extension
We have holes in many leaves, some branches have no leaves, and there are some bare patches on trunk and branches where there is no bark. It can be p...
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purple leafed plum tree disease or pest? #367336
Asked October 02, 2016, 5:36 PM EDT
We have holes in many leaves, some branches have no leaves, and there are some bare patches on trunk and branches where there is no bark. It can be peeled back. We found two dead beetle (locusts?) like creature on leaves. They have large blue eyes and are about 3/4 " long. In the early summer there were yellow insects that looked like ladybugs. Can you please advise us on what may be happening and what we might do to correct it? Thank you for attention in this matter.
Roberta and Greg
Montgomery County Pennsylvania
Expert Response
Hi:
In the first photo, there is evidence of dead wood and borers. The dead wood could be the result of an old injury, stress from improper planting years ago. There are borer exit holes. The size indicates one of the species of bark beetles. Borers are difficult to manage because the real issue is that the tree is under stress and more vulnerable to attack. In the second photo, it looks like a mix of Japanese beetle adult feeding damage and one of the foliar fungal pathogens (one of the shot hole fungi) common to this plant. Unless either gets real severe, neither is that big an issue. The third pictures has the exoskeletons from the last immature stage of the annual cicada. They are harmless.
In the first photo, there is evidence of dead wood and borers. The dead wood could be the result of an old injury, stress from improper planting years ago. There are borer exit holes. The size indicates one of the species of bark beetles. Borers are difficult to manage because the real issue is that the tree is under stress and more vulnerable to attack. In the second photo, it looks like a mix of Japanese beetle adult feeding damage and one of the foliar fungal pathogens (one of the shot hole fungi) common to this plant. Unless either gets real severe, neither is that big an issue. The third pictures has the exoskeletons from the last immature stage of the annual cicada. They are harmless.
