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Italian Plum leaves with white particles and holes in the leaves #805215

Asked August 08, 2022, 12:37 PM EDT

I have two Italian Plum trees. The leaves on these trees are just covered with white particles and the leaves are eaten through with holes in them. Can you tell me ( a ) what this is and ( b ) how I can treat for it. Thank you! Alan Ross Molalla, OR

Clackamas County Oregon

Expert Response

Hi Alan- Your great pictures show me a tree that has been stressed by the weather this year and has developed a fungus infection along with aphids. The leaf spot fungus is causing the holes and the "white spots" are the cast off carcasses of the aphids.

For the aphids, at this time of year a strong jet of water from a hose is recommended to knock back the population. There should be helpful insects like ladybugs and lacewings helping you out as well, so you don't want to spray chemicals now as it would harm the good and the bad guys.

The fungus is also called "shothole" and I'm attaching an article for ways to deal with it. It is common this year due to our wet spring. You can prune the tree for more air circulation and rake up the fallen leaves to keep it from entering the soil. There are some sprays in the following article that can be applied to the tree this fall at "leaf fall". Look for the ones listed that have an "H" with a box around it. These are available to the home gardener.
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/prune-plum-prunus-spp-leaf-spots

I did not get good pollination on my Italian plum this year due to the rain, so don't worry if you don't have much fruit. It is not related to the aphids and shothole.

Happy spraying,
Rhonda Frick-Wright Replied August 08, 2022, 6:46 PM EDT
Thank you very much Rhonda. This is very helpful. 

Kind regards
Alan Ross 

From: askextension=<personal data hidden> <askextension=<personal data hidden>> on behalf of Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>>
Sent: Monday, August 8, 2022 3:46:43 PM
To: Alan Ross <<personal data hidden>>
Subject: Re: Italian Plum leaves with white particles and holes in the leaves (#0075146)
 
The Question Asker Replied August 09, 2022, 11:20 AM EDT

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