I have inherited a rather sick deciduous fig with our property. The first year we had it there were very few branches and the leaves had bumps all over them. I have since watered it well and top dressed it with compost and it has responded positively. However, each spring the leaves unfurl and the bumps are still there. No insects are visible. Does anyone know what this might be and how it is affecting this tree? Thank you.
Looks like some sort of gaul infestation to me. If this is the case, you won't see any bigs as they'll be inside the leaves. Are they quite thick, these bumps? If so you may want to cut one in half to see if there's a grub inside this lump.
Spellcheck: gall infestation. A Gaul infestation is what happened in Thrace in 281 BC: [WIKI]Gaul[/WIKI]...
Thanks for your suggestion. I clipped off a leaf and did a disection. The "bump" it turns out isn't solid. It's actually more of a puckering of the leaf. The puckered portion is thicker and there is a white substance. No insects or larvae were present that I could see, unless of course they are microscopic in size which may be likely. I think you are correct that it may be a gall but I haven't found any treatments that don't involve lots of chemicals so I think I'll just learn to live with it as the tree is in otherwise fairly good health. Thanks again for your help.
