Fusarium wilt is a fungus, It attacks all type of Palm trees from Queen palms , Mexican fan palm, canary island date palm . Its symptoms are usually a one- sided chlorosis or necrosis of the leaf blades, with a distinct reddish brown or dark brown stripe on the petiole and rachis.
The disease symptoms normally appear first on the oldest ( lowest ) living leaves , and then progressively move upward in the canopy until the palm is killed.
Transmission of the disease is thought to be from contaminated pruning tools.
There is currently no cure for this lethal disease. Go to the link below and check out the Pics of this disease in action....... edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp278
( #2 ) Thielaviopsis.
Thielaviopsis is a fungus that can infect any part of the palm, and so can cause numerous diseases. In Florida , the two most frequent ( and usually lethal ) types Bud rot and trunk rot.
The disease symptoms , The palm trunk usually collapses on itself or the canopy suddenly falls off the trunk . The disease is most often observed in the upper 2/3 s of the trunk. Go to the link below to see this rascal in action. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp143.
(#3 ) TPPD.
Texas Phoenix Palm Disease is a new disease in Florida. This disease is caused by an unculturable bacterium that has no cell wall - a phytoplasma. TPPD is a systemic disease that kills palms rather quickly . TPPD is spread naturally to palms by sap-feeding insects.
This disease symptoms include palms showing symptoms of more than 25 % foliar discoloration or a dead spear leaf ( very center ) . Another symptom is that the palm will drop all of its fruit at one time. The next symptom is discoloration of the foliage. beginning with the oldest leaves. The leaves do not turn yellow , but quickly turn varying shades of reddish brown . For pics of this disease here is a link . edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp163
(#4 ) Over Pruning.
This is a practice that I see all to often here in Florida , its the over pruning of palms or for a better term ( Hurricane cutting ) . This practice of pruning palm in my view is one of the reasons palms have so many problems with nutrient deficiency's . and other diseases as well. every time a tree is over pruned it has to push out new growth to try to replace the fronds that have been removed. So removing these fronds ( food producers ) , only causes more stem elongation and more vertical growth and pretty soon the palm starts getting deficient in Macro and Micro nutrients . Plus these palms also provide a habitat for birds , squirrels. and a lot of other wild life that use them to build nests or hide from bigger predators.
(#5 ) Ganoderma. Butt rot of Palms.
Ganoderma butt rot is caused by the fungus Ganoderma zonatum the fungus degrades the lignin in the lower 4 - 5 feet of the trunk. it does not cause soft rot, the trunk seems hard.
This disease symptom is primarily that the palm starts wilting mild or severely of all of the leaves except the spear leaf ( very top and vertical frond ) , Other symptoms can best be described as a general decline - slower growth and off color foliage. A basidiocarp or conk is the most easily identifiable structure associated with this fungus. When the conk first starts on the side of the palm it is a solid white mass that is relatively soft when touched. As it matures , a small shelf or bracket will start to form as the conk begins to extend or protrude from the trunk . Here is a link from the U of Fla website. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp100
(#6 ) Micro Nutrient deficiencies
Micro Nutrient deficiencies occur quite a bit in Palm trees for a few reasons and it usually affects the new fronds. There are some tell tale signs that are on the palms that you need to look out for.
Boron..... Tips of the frond either hooked or devoid of any leaflets.
Potassium...... Newer leafs start turning yellow at the tips.
Magnesium....... Broad Yellowing throughout the palm with center portion staying green.
Manganese........ Will cause leaflet tips to become necrotic , curled and withered ( Frizzle Top ).
Iron ...... Yellow frond with green speckles. These are but some of the deficiencies that a palm can have . They are rarely fatal to the tree but could stress the palm out which could help to keep it in decline.
- ( #7 ) Fertilization.
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