Hi....Could anyone please help...I have a 3 year old avocado tree. It stopped growing about a year ago and has lost most of its leaves. (In picture 1 the tree has still a few leaves, curently only half that amount are left on the tree)..... We are in spring here in perth and the tree has started to flower again, but only a few at the moment ( see the pictures). This tree has never ever produced any fruits whatsoever....could be due to poor pollisation or due to the windy weather we've been having this year, but anyway at this stage I am not concerned about the fruits I am only concerned about the tree lossing its leaves and its appearance.....see the brown leaves and brown bark on the tree......... I read some where on the net that yellow leaves indicate iron and boron defiency, so I bought a trace element pack and used accordingly. Do you think that my tree will survive??
There are two ways of taking diseases of Avocados into consideration: where did the plant originally come from, which nursery produced it and which diseases are common for your area. The symptoms I am seeing from your tree coincide with a disease that is common for your area. I suggest you read this article. Fruits in the home garden-Avocados I see several of the more influential web sites refer to this link for their information on this disease as I knew they would. Avocado Root Rot--UC IPM For more detailed information on Avocado Root Rot in an orchard. Strategies To Control PHYTOPHTHORA CINNAMOMI Root Rot Of Avocado For other diseases and pests of Avocado. Avocado Pest Management Guidelines--UC IPM Two good growing links. Home Fruit Production - Avocado AVOCADO Fruit Facts Hope this helps. Jim
An added note: We can see evidence of root rots even in a dry condition. The soil does not have to be wet or saturated for us to see the rot symptoms. I am more apt to see the root rots where I am in dry conditions. Nutrient deficiencies alone will not skeletonize the top of the tree on down, neither will wind damage alone do it either. The areas of discoloration in the trunk and the branches tells me you have a disease in this tree. Avocados should be cared for much like Citrus. Deep watering with good and fast drainage is essential for Avocados to thrive. Citrus fertilizers and other acid foods have been used for Avocados for many years. Below is another link on disease symptoms to the fruit and the leaves. Diseases of Avocado in Florida Jim
mr shep many thanks for your reply. I'll read the links today at work. Again many thanks, hopefully there is a cure for my little tree.
Hi mr shep. My little tree is still alive. I bought a fungicide from Bunnings in perth and sprayed it 2 weeks ago. Also I managed to get some some Calcium carbonate and spread it all over the soil (aparently this helps the control of Phytophthora cinnamomi)....now my tree has new growth and new leaves but they are still small.....i'll post a couple of pictures so you can give your opinion....thanks
I am pleased to see the new growth. The tree is looking a lot better. The leaves are supposed to be small in size at first and as they expand they should become considerably larger. Right now, who cares that much about the size of the leaves as you are getting new growth that will help you sustain this tree later. We will have to work on protecting the new leaves later though. Is your soil that type of sand where the Avocado is and also in your planters or did you add in the sand at any time and place it on top of any clay? Did you fertilize this tree also? How much calcium carbonate did you apply? Have you been watering this tree more often since you applied the calcium carbonate? Jim
The soil here in perth is very sandy, especially close the the coast where I live. I bought a bag of mushroom compost and soil conditioners when I planted the avocado. I normally fertilize it 4 times a year using NPK and organic fertilizer as Dynamic lifter. I think I sprinkled about 100 grams of Calcium carbonate and worked it in the soil and added just enough water to make the soil slightly wet. Then I left the tree for 3 weeks and new leaves started to come up.....I personally think that the tree is just waking up because we are in spring now, and daily temperatures have started to rise above the 20 degres mark.....so far i havent watered the avocado as we are still having some odd showers......
