I just had a realization. My chum tree is rapidly dying now from what appears to be wilt. Two years ago my peach tree also quickly died next to it (at the time I assumed it was roundup seepage). Both of these trees are planted right next to old plum tree stumps. I also had a new kiwi vine suddenly die in that area. In a different part of the garden I’ve had 3 kiwi vines suddenly wilt and die (I had assumed these were due to moles damaging the roots).
In all these cases the plants were well cared for and doing well before being struck down.
Is it possible I have verticillium in the garden and it’s killing all these trees? If so what can I do about it?
I don’t know if you have it or not? I do know that hundreds of studies show the bacteria in compost eat the verticillium fungi. Also you must have anaerobic conditions for it to reproduce. So work compost in the area, keep adding organic matter to the area. Mulch with compost then wood chips, or whatever you can find. A constant presence of organic material is needed. Mound tree a foot at least from soil level to prevent any kind of anaerobic conditions from even being possible.
I agree you do seem to have a soil or root problem, it could be moles, gophers, or nematodes too though. For moles an gophers one could build hardware cloth barriers underground to prevent any animal getting to the roots. If you take a 4x4 area for a tree and put down hardware cloth the same size, build a raised bed there, no way can animals get to the root ball. Only what grows past it. One could dig down 2 feet line bottom and sides with hardware cloth. Giving roots 3 feet before they leave the area. may be enough. Lot’s of work and proof animals are causing it would be nice. As this is not an easy thing to do!
Well roundup works when put on leaves, if roots are exposed to roundup they can’t absorb it. I do believe though that if put directly on bark or roots, it does expose tree to small amounts. Why roundup is so valuable it usually does not harm anything it’s not directly sprayed on, and usually only foliage. Drift is an issue, and drift mist goes farther than you think.
Thanks for the feedback. The anaerobic thing I can see possibly being a cause in the area I have a Kiwi‘s. It’s Rich wet soil with fabric over top. That area had trouble growing most things which would wilt especially tomatoes. I have been growing blueberries , citrus, and 1 kiwi there with no problems though.
The area the peach tree died and the Chum tree is dying is different though. Elevated sloping soil on the edge of a cliff with invasive bamboo and weeds constantly pushing in. Nectarine peach Mulberry blackberries all growing there with zero issue. Very old dead plum trunks next to the trees though, not sure if that would spread bacteria.
I can’t really dig the whole area up and compost it as it would destroy the established roots on my trees that are doing well.
Maybe you can send tissue samples to local universities, or whomever handles issues for farmers. If it happens more. Hard to fight something that you don’t know for sure what the problem is. Sorry to hear all this, hope you resolve it and keep us updated.
Thanks I’ll try to keep up on it.
Wow, I feel your pain. I’m having a very good year, but I still have problems. My peppers got hit with some kind of wilt the last 2 years. So production has been very low. I’m going to sterilize everything as I think it may be a virus. I don’t know though? They get hit before I even plant them out.