Greetings, Our apricot tree is suffering quite badly from something this year and I'd appreciate any possible diagnoses or suggestions. The leaves are sparse, and the fruit is small (~1"), falling unripe and very chewed up. I presume the latter is due to fruit fly larvae - white grubs about 1cm long in the fruit? But I think these are just a consequence rather than the primary cause of disease. There is evidence of scale on the branches. How much scale would be cause for concern? The tree was (professionally) pruned in the fall of 2005, but otherwise we haven't done anything to/around it. In the past 4 years it has done very well (depending on the severity of spring frosts) with lots of sizeable, ripe fruit. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks, Cseven
Since you didn't have any luck here, my suggestion is to email Philip Northover (Farm Production Extension Pathologist - Crops Knowledge Centre, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives) -- I don't have his email address, but if you visit this page on black knot on Prunus, you can click on his name and fill out a form which will (should) send an email to him.
Thanks for this helpful contact, Daniel! Since I first posted this query, we had an expert come to assess the tree and it has several (possibly fatal) challenges: black rot, chlorosis, and an infestation of scale. He has recommended fall fertilizing, spring application of insecticidal oil, and careful pruning of dead wood. I hope we can save the tree!
