Maria’s Joy pawpaw - dying?

Just really looking strange…
https://youtu.be/c51ckH7nCyc

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It does looks like sunburn on the leaves and droopy.
Nice orchard by the way, I didn’t knew they ware so many varieties of pawpaws I currently have only one tree.

Good luck with your tree!

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Thanks! The sunburn is odd because it’s starting it’s third year and it’s obviously a graft, so it should have no problem with full sun …

Here are some stills that may be easier to see
image image

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Could be iron chlorosis , ph to high ?

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Like @Hillbillyhort said it could be an issue of pH and iron. I had the same symptoms on some pawpaws; they improved when I gave them extra manganese, so it was a manganese problem. The leaves would be chlorotic and burn up in the sun previously. They also showed very little signs of growth.

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Thanks for the input!
The native soil is slightly above 7 pH, that is, before I started prepping the area and planting. I tested it a few months ago and it was around 6.8.
It’s definitely something I feel like I’m battling, and could probably do more to address.
I’ve not tested manganese. What is a good source of Mn I could use?

The tree was more or less looking great until only a few days ago.
I was going to say it’s the only tree looking like this, and it essentially is, but my Benson about 12 feet away has a couple leaves with similar specking.

I’ve also sprayed Daconil in 3 rounds, 14 days apart. I tested on a small area first and saw no ill effects. I don’t think it’s causing problems, but if it is, it would be a cumulative type of effect.

I bought this Manganese powder off of Amazon.

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How did you decide on Manganese, Drew?

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There’s a nutrient deficiency reference on a facebook page called pawpaw fanatics.

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If it’s possible to post that here, this non-Facebooker would be grateful :yum:

But no pressure. I’m going to take it slow and do some research. It certainly could be Mn but I’m thinking it’s a localized issue to this tree and still wonder about that ugly cracking at the base. May be diseased as a result.

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Here ya go. I’m not sure if this will work. https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Nutrient%20Deficiencies.pdf?token=AWw5p_L10CxU0BvF3qKpkD9siBTmAdshYTqpd9YQ8PaeMO7LVvI0CDMZQuo8cXb7a12PfTPv9aZ5whPXRc27przDoDPtFpjgIg8sGnmrol5_I9-RGd0bOuVLRCBVtVG-otskY8f9TLQzmxzrmeeFZy-KF_spZWVjYpgn9R6UUT5O8gO_TTwEGcEfD3595yLDHu93GJ9z7GCi-ZOhpjV_b-3z
It’s not specifically for Asimina triloba but that facebook group seems to accept it as a useful reference being from a related species.

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Wow! Thanks so much!
Certainly the description of Mn deficiency sounds similar.

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Ok, I went back and checked my soil tests.
My orchard is long and narrow - i submitted samples from sort of 2 sections of the orchard.
One had pH of 6.7, the other 6.99. I think my memory fixated on the better 6.7 score :slight_smile: Turns out it did list a Manganese value - both were 14. The report did not qualify this as low or high, but from what I can see it is considered low. Combined with still-higher-than-I-want pH, this would seem like a problem.
However, again, this is the only tree really showing these symptoms, so i have a hard time thinking I have a large-scale Mn deficiency (low Mn, high pH) issue.
One interesting tidbit I found concerns soil moisture and Mn availability: “Under short-term waterlogged conditions, plant available Mn++ can be reduced to Mn+, which is unavailable to plants.”
This is exactly what precipitated these leaf symptoms - a long period of (cool) wet weather. The first sign of issues with this tree was actually black leaf margins on the newest leaves, with some curling under from the tip.
This has been a great learning experience regarding Mn, but I think i will keep focusing (more) on getting my pH down, as most of my pawpaws seem green and happy…

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update - it’s now dropping some leaves. We did have a little bit of a storm, nothing severe. No other leaves on the ground. Arg…

Is there anything that can be done to directly address the cracking at the base?
Such as pulling it together like you would a graft, or fill it with a wound dressing, artificial bark, or even something crazy like caulk?

Tree has continued to decline, dropping leaves etc.
though just the other day I noticed this blackening on the trunk. It rubs off - must be some kind of spores etc.
definitely will be cutting this one out. I realize it’s really not in the best spot anyway after I added more trees around it.