Two weeks ago I noticed my neighbors persimmon tree was more yellow than the other Kaki persimmons we have. I noticed a damaged bark spot that went about half way around the trunk about 4-6” above the graft union. The tree is only 2 years old on d virgianna rootstock.
I performed a bridge graft to help recover from the trunk damage. It’s too early to tell if the graft has taken. This am I took a soil sample to find these results:
Soil Test on 7/25/22: pH 6, N low, Ph low, Pot high
Seeing low N and Ph, I gave it 2 Tbs miracle grow with 2 TBS Epsom salts in 2 gal water, and a handful of 3-16. Mulched it with horse manure. I will observe over the summer to see if color or vigor changes. If you have similar issues with foliage coloration tell me what you did to remedy it.
Thanks
Dennis
Kent, wa
Is the rootstock sprouting from the bottom there? I can’t tell from the picture too well but there are some lower inner leaves that look newer which usually is the rootstock. I have had many persimmon rootstocks not happy with what was stuck on them and the stock shoots can out-compete the top variety. If this is happening the top could be fading due to stock competition.
That is a very unhappy looking tree.
I would remove all grass around the persimmon to eliminate competition. And mulch well.
Persimmons should be a lot healthier and quite vigorous in our climate.
@DennisD
That looks like Molybdenum deficiency.
Molybdenum is needed for nitrogen fixation, conversion, storage & retrieval.
Lowering the pH reduces Molybdenum water solubility.
Epsom salt is 5.5pH
@DennisD … it has been very hot here 3 or 4 weeks… little to no rain. I noticed in the woods today lots of vining plants… virginia creeper, poison ivy, and many small saplings and some devils walking stick… that was yellow.
Lots of stuff starting to look seriously stressed here… some sourwood tree leaves already red.
Noticed the grass around that little persimmon is mostly brown… looks like you have had some hot and dry too.
A good 4-6 inch deep ring of mulch wide around that little tree and a few slow deep waterings might help.
Perhaps put down some organic fertilizer… my save anything mix includes… bone meal blood meal epsom salt gypsum green sand. Loads of minerals and trace elements. If it is missing something other than water that should provide.
No the rootstock is behaving well, no suckers at all, there is one Nikita’s Gift graft that is a different foliage, probably what catches your eye, it looks fairly healthy last years graft.
Agree the grass needs to be smothered out with newspaper under the mulch you suggest, I did that today and added quite a bit after reviewing the soil test.
Oh that Nikita’s Gift graft could be out competing it then. Persimmons are not like other fruit trees in how they can reject grafts over time. If the stock much prefers that one it will feed it only.
Hi Scott,
I have wondered about that, the damage to the bark on the trunk that I bridge grafted is below both and maybe 5-6” above the graft. As the growing season advances it will be interesting to see if NG is taking over.
Dennis
Hi Mich,
Is there a good natural source for Molybdenum? I read several articles and would like to locate a source.
Dennis
Sodium Molybdate is approximately $30 per pound.
It is 3.28 times as heavy as water.
Approximately 32 teaspoons per pound.
Eye droppers are metered at approximately 800 drops per once.
If you mix 1 teaspoon Sodium Molybdate into (0.84) onces of water you will have 1 fluid once of Sodium Molybdate solution.
Each drop will be (1/800) teaspoon.
Or 18mg of Sodium Molybdate.
1 drop per gallon of water as a foliar spray is appropriate.
(800 x 32) = 25,600 gallons of foliar spray for $30.
Molybdenum doesn’t have to be chelated like other micronutrients & is actually far more bioactive & water soluble as Sodium Molybdate.
Many places which sell it.
1 pound of Sodium Molybdate for $26
Molybdenum deficiency.
Yellow, White or Clear veins, mottled chlorosis, plus Xanthomonas or Fungal spots.
If the NG graft is looking good it means there is probably nothing wrong with the roots… it and Hachiya are on the same rootstock. Of course it rarely hurts to fertilize…
Agree, Scott, see my response to Ryan
Dennis
What @scottfsmith said is very interesting. I have a Fuyu (Jiro) on D. Lotus. It was quite vigorous and healthy. I grafted a few varieties - Chocolate, CoffeeCake and hybrids - NG, Gora Roman Kosh and others. Now the tree randomly starves out branches/grafts which turn black and die while others thrive. I thought the tree is dying but selective growth is likely what I am seeing. Is this behavior specific to D. Lotus rootstock or does it happen with D.V too?
I get the impression that all persimmon rootstocks do this. I do not enough experience to know for certain, but what I have observed is d.v is more vigorous that the others in terms of being able to support a larger tree. But it’s very difficult to prevent suckering from taking over the graft. My only lotus has one Suruga graft which grows at a snails pace, may never fruit? My perception is Fertilizing does not help it. My chocolate on dv rootstock is taking a number of varieties, but this years top working met with mixed success on some hybrids that took while others did not. So I am more convinced that it’s not so much the rootstock that selects which fails as it is the vigor of the scion variety. Barkslip suggested that I tried too many grafts in one year, that seems to be the case. Next year I plan to tip prune other growing varieties around my chocolate to help direct energy to grafting the few remaining limbs I want to convert to other varieties.ultimately I want no chocolate fruit on the tree.