Hey everyone
This is my 2 year old rosseyanka persimmon that i got last year from edible landscaping. I have 3 other trees all potted and in my greenhouse to start the season. Is this some kind of aphid damage? I do have insecticidal spray available to spray if needed
Gave this thing an insecticidal soap spray down this am to see if that helps. I cant physically see anything so hopefully it will bounce back. Also just noticed this thing is developing some flower buds…is thag normal for a two year old grafted tree
Not sure what’s going on there ?
May be psyllids ,
I see them here in Wv. Usually just curl the edge of the leafs.
Agree with @Hillbillyhort. Had this on my young persimmon too - not sure how I got it must be some native persimmons around me or they came from the nursery. Really stunted the growth for the first year.
If the insecticidal soap doesn’t work then you can use a systemic like Imidacloprid, since you won’t be making any fruit this year any way.
My leaves are only affected and curled on one tree. My saijo yates and nikitas gift are unaffected so far. Should i spray them as a preventative measure?
Hmmm… Here are the leaves of my Rosseyanka I got from EL last fall. I’m worried about the droopy growth, but also it looks a little brownish and curled, plus I see some ants which I always take as a sign of something else. But I don’t see any specific other bugs, aphids or otherwise.
I think normal growth on a lot of kaki looks droopy.
Thanks. That is good to hear. Maybe I’ll just hit the Rossy with a little neem incase there are bugs I’m not seeing and let it be.
Rosseyanka looks like it’s being attacked by persimmon psylla. Prok looks normal. Like Katy said, persimmons often have droopy growth. This is especially true when they first leaf out.
Do you usually do anything to combat psylla or is it a reasonable strategy to rely on natural predators and letting the tree just grow through it? I don’t usually do anything for aphids on my apple trees’ growth in the spring and am wondering if I can ignore the psylla in the same way. Eventually a reasonable population of ladybugs comes along, so I don’t want to do something that would hurt that.
I normally spray small persimmon trees and new grafts since the psylla can really zap the energy out of little trees. Carbaryl works wonders on psylla but kills everything that touches it. Larger trees can shrug off the psylla with their vigor. Damaged leaves can be permanently affected by these pests and be deformed for the rest of the season. They are less of a problem as the season progresses.
You need to protect very young trees but if they are older they can withstand it. I try to cover my young grafts especially and even 2nd year if they are still small. The psyllids go after the tender leaves and will eat out the growth buds. It will slow growth until they can sprout growth from another bud. If they have few buds left to sprout growth I would spray or cover them. My 2018 grafts this year will be good to go. Several of my 2019 grafts I will try to cover/spray.
Okay, I certainly don’t want to slow the tree down. I just have Neem oil and Spinosad on hand. Either of those work on psylla?
I am not the one to ask on that. When I have to spray I use the Carbaryl. I’m always feeling guilty about either spraying or letting my persimmons get eaten. I try to cover but I think this year I have too many trees to make it happen. 
No psylla,mate…perfectly normal
Rosseyanka. Black spots in first leaves are typical, it will grow out of it.
I’ve had the same experience as @Harbin. And most of my hybrids have that pronounced droopy growth habit, which all persimmons have to some degree. Psylla will likely show up at some point this season. They get down in between the leaves on new growth and can be a pain to deal with even if their damage is minimal. Preventing with neem has worked for me. So has hatching a praying mantis egg sack near my persimmons and letting them do their thing.
I wasn’t referring to the black spots. The leaves being cupped and folded downwards made me think it was psylla damage.
What strength neem do you mix? And you can spray it on new growth or just on dormant?
You can spray on new growth. I’ve always followed Scott’s spray recommendations for neem. They’re in the “guides” section of the site. Just be careful about spraying on very hot days, as he mentions.
@Jveri I have the same pest issue on the young persimmon you had. What type of insecticidal solution you used that is effective?
Thanks
Kate
