Why are my honeycrisp apple leaves turning brown? - Ask Extension
My Honeycrisp apple is having problems with foliage turning brown/red for the second season. The tree was planted 5 years ago. This is the first year...
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Why are my honeycrisp apple leaves turning brown? #647827
Asked June 08, 2020, 1:53 PM EDT
My Honeycrisp apple is having problems with foliage turning brown/red for the second season. The tree was planted 5 years ago. This is the first year it has set and retained fruit. I'm on a regular spray schedule with a commercial sprayer for insect and disease control. My other non-Honeycrisp apples are doing extremely well. I thought it might be missing some micronutrient so applied chelated iron to the soil last fall. I've also read Honeycrisp do not absorb calcium well through the soil and so am spraying after the buds dropped with foliar calcium once a week. Please give me some things to try!
Linn County Oregon
Expert Response
You may need to back off the calcium sprays. The damage is to the leaf margins where a spray material might accumulate. And/or where salts can accumulate when picked up by the transpiration stream. Double check your rate and see if you might be over the limit. Once a month might be better than once a week:
Another possibility is that the material has settled in the tank and if not agitated may overdose when the last amount comes out of your sprayer. Just thinking of various things that can result in these symptoms.
