My 8 year old Snow Queen Nectarine tree has bark splitting which oozes a gummy substance which is amber colored (no smell). This began about 2 years ago on truck and has spread up to top of tree: 7’ and some side branches. The oozing happens all year, even while dormant. The gummy substance is not sticky like sap.
I decided to remove this tree, as you can tell from pictures. The adjacent plum tree is starting to ooze gummy substance now, but no bark splitting. The nectarine tree showed lots of vigor this year with new growth.
I read the “Please advise on Bacterial Canker on Interspecifics” by dwn posted March 7, and UC IPM disease notes on Nectarines. I think the tree has bacterial canker, and would like others opinion(s).
Trunk
The tree is on raised area to promote drainage. I live in southern CA, which is going into 5th year of drought. This year we only got 7 inches of rain, compared to historical average of around 14 inches.
That does sound like bacterial canker. If it was spreading to other trees then removal seems like it was the right decision. If the plum tree is showing symptoms then I would recommend excising if it worsens. Where I excised on my tree it’s scarred over nicely. I’ve had 3 hail storms come through which put pockmarks all over my trees and some of them have oozed hard amber, not sure yet if they’re infected. Not sure what else to do except spray copper and plant more resistant varieties. Bad luck seems to abound in the garden some years.
I don’t know enough of reading symptoms of pest, disease, and environment. I figured that if it was localized, then sun scald could be on the list. But the symptoms on this tree successively have moved over much of the tree. Good point though.
I bought a speckled egg nectarine tree from Raintree nursery and put it in the ground this winter around end of January. I just noticed this amber colored Gum. What might it be? How can I and should I treat it, since I have five plum trees and two other nectarine trees, nearby in a high density planting, or should I just remove it and throw it away?
Could be bacterial canker. Some trees grow out of it, but it is not guaranteed. The ooze is rich in bacteria, so it me be a good idea to get rid of the tree.
Unfortunately, a lot of nurseries don’t have good quality control and send diseased trees to people. I got a bunch of plum trees from Raintree few years ago, one had bacterial canker and another had crown gall, both discovered after planting. I removed the latter because it was very weak tree, but I decided to take a wager with the former so I cut it a couple of inches above the graft union and it grew back with no signs of canker (this is its second season after cutting down), and it is growing well.
I got trees from ACN and Cummins with visible big galls in their roots. I also got a nectarine and a cot from Bay Laurel with bacterial canker; I pruned the diseased wood off the nectarine and it is growing well now, but the cot is still sick. I will give the cot a couple more years to see if it will recover or not. Bacterial canker is endemic in the north east, and a lot of cots, plums and cherries get infected, so it does not do me much good to remove an infected tree to protect the others in my orchard.
