apple tree leaves yellowing and dropping My apples trees have decided to do a new trick on me. Many leaves are turning yellowish and falling off. What are some possible causes? I already know that I'm having major problems with aphids (I don't think aphids are the problem with these leaves, they aren't curling at all and there wasn't any noticable sign of them), and some of the trees have some scab too I think (eventhough I tried to plant scab-resitant variants). Note: the veins are turning yellow first (not chlorosis?). The trees are fairly close to some concrete. Thanks Doug
Maybe the soil is too damp, or lacking in some nutrients? Before planting I dug a trench and filled with some gravel, filled in the trench with soil/compost, and added a 12" burm on which the trees are planted. But I noticed some moss growing. Here's another picture:
What kinds of Apples are you talking about, how many trees and where are you located? The first two leaves are showing signs of either one of three symptoms but can be a composite of all three. One, you probably have a Magnesium deficiency. Can be corrected with ground based applications of Magnesium sulfate, Calcium nitrate or Iron sulfate along with deep watering to incorporate the fertilizers into the ground. All or any of the three can be used to help. Two, the speckling of the leaves could also be the result of early Leafminer damage. Three, Apple leaves will show symptoms like the first set of leaves when the leaves are not getting enough sunlight. In the shaded areas is where we will generally see the effects of Magnesium deficiency first. For leaves like the second pair to be seen on a sunny side of the tree then we have what appears to be a Calcium deficiency. [With burned outer margins of the leaves also then that can be the result of a Calcium toxicity from the concrete but that is not seen here] or the branch where the leaves came from is damaged from the effects of a disease and possibly some insect damage also. http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/selectnewpest.apples.html Jim
Hi, I have 5 trees on dwarf rootstock. Varieties are Hudson's Golden Gem, Ananas Reinette, Rubinette, Vanderpool and Suntan. Some trees are worse than others. I'm in Vancouver BC, and we've had an unusually wet late spring I think. Other research led me to apply some ammonium sulfate today (I hadn't seen your post until now). I'll have to check and see if there is any calcium or magnesium in the particular mix I used. Thanks for your help
What are you doing to get rid of the Aphids? We had something similar happen to some of our trees last year. Turned out the local ant hill was harvesting the aphid for water in the drought. (With all the rain I'm sure this isn't the case for you.) This year the trees are fine. We have lots of fruit, and the leaves are happy. (Oh, I got rid of the ants) Carol Ja
