Fusarium Wilt or ??????

[palmislandRandy]

I looked up Saturday and noticed severe yellowing on one of my Queens & thought it might be nutritional. I took these photos today. Looks like Fusarium Wilt? Should I plan on having it removed ASAP? Thanks

[Tala]

yes thats it. Technically its not fusarium wilt (which moves thru portions of the fronds & canopy), but fusarium decline. The entire thing dies back. Nothing good to say about it, remove that palm and cross your various appendages it hasn't moved to the others. I've had to remove groups of them before, it would spread from one palm to another with rabbit like quickness, mature palms turned to potential tiki poles in a month's time. Oddly enough some older previous palms have stood nearby just fine. Maybe you can save the others by getting that one out asap. We don't have a firm grip on this just yet, and I haven't noticed it as much here (cen. Fl.) as I did last yr. Seems to really crank up in wet periods but that may be coincidental. Its also best not to plant another palm in that particular site.

[palmislandRandy]

Thanks, It's a gonner ASAP. My neighbor had 3 go within 2 months of each other, about 6 months ago. They were about 75 yards away. Figures it would have to be one of mine. :rage: I have 10 to go. Apparently the previous health does not matter.

[Mark Heath]

Sorry to see what has happened to your beautifull Queen palm. I hope for you that it has'nt spread to any of the others!

[iamjv]

To help educate those of us that don't know about the decline... in the photo above would the telling sign being the combination of yellowing new fronds with the dying off of the older ones??? At first when I looked at the photo, I thought it might have just been a nutrient issue... many queens here in central TX, turn yellowish because of our alkaline soils... thanks in advance. Jv

[Eric in Orlando]

It doesn't take long before they look like this.....

[rozpalm]

I noticed in your picture that your tree was recently pruned. I sure hope that you did not prune this tree and all of the others at the same time.

I don't know if you use a landscape company to maintain your yard, but if you do don't let them trim any of your palms ever. Very few if any clean their saws when they go from house to house. They'll clean up an infected tree and then come to your house and use the same tool to trim your trees. I sure hope you can get this before it spreads.

[palmislandRandy]

I noticed in your picture that your tree was recently pruned. I sure hope that you did not prune this tree and all of the others at the same time.

I don't know if you use a landscape company to maintain your yard, but if you do don't let them trim any of your palms ever. Very few if any clean their saws when they go from house to house. They'll clean up an infected tree and then come to your house and use the same tool to trim your trees. I sure hope you can get this before it spreads.

Nobody touches my trees but me! (I sterilize between trees) I took off a few of the bottom fronds a few months ago (Hurricane Wilma) When I saw some Queens going south quickly down the street, I got the HOA to contact the owner & get it removed. They cut it down within a few days, but left the debris by the curb for days waiting for county pickup. At first I thought it was nutrition, but mine has declined very rapidly. I already called a few tree svcs...... when are thy gonna call back already???? b

[Tala]

today I was at one of the very first jobs I did where fus. decline reared its ugly head. I lost 3 mature Queens within a 2 month time frame there, this about three or so yrs ago. They were planted along the back pool screen of a home, and underneath I had staggered several clumps of Phoenix roebelenii in between each Queen. All of those P.rob's are doing great to this day! And so is an older Queen that was already planted in the front yard. So not every palm is susceptible to this, in fact I think Uof Fl. did some tests w/ infected canariensis and they did not pass it on to the roebeleniis.

BTW this disease does kill the Butyagrus "Mule" hybrids too. A friend lost several of these, but oddly enough there is a S.botryophora that has been setting seed for yrs still there. This particular disease is certainly a difficult one to get a read on.

Jv - what you will need to look for is a complete browning of the petiole (confusingly resembles petiole blight a totally different disease), and the dying fronds will remain completely upright. Usually as queen fronds age the petiole bends and allows them to droop some. Infected fronds will not droop (prob. they die so fast there is no chance for them to do so). And once infected there is no saving them, each frond browns out wk after wk from bottom to top until there are no green leaves remaining.

Edited November 11, 2008 by Tala

[palmislandRandy]

I have 11 Queens that were here when I bought the house. They are now some of the healthiest I've seen, which brings me to the question of why me, when there are so many poor looking Queens around???? It the tallest of the 11. Is it stressed because of age? It's comming down tomorrow!

[iamjv]

Tala, Thanks for the info. Jv

[Mark Heath]

Randy,

It's not stressed due to age, I have several that dwarf your tallest one! Yours is a baby!!

Unfortunatly you're very unlucky! I'm sorry for your loss!!! I just hope it does'nt spread to any more of

your palms! I'm curious though how it spread from your neighbors house to yours, is it carried by a bug?????

I'm sure someone here can answer that question!!

[palmislandRandy]

I just noticed before dark, another of mine in a different group doesn't look quite right.....ugh!

Mark, My neighbors 3 trees died & were removed about 8 months ago & I havn't seen any more infected in the area.... anyone know how long this thing is viable?

[Tala]

here's some links, one w/ pics:

fusarium decline pics for ID

the latest info is a pdf file:

latest info on fusarium decline

[SubTropicRay]

Dave,

So this is different than (TPPD) Texas Phoenix Palm Decline that is also attacking Queen palms and the native Sabal palmetto? The symptoms of that disease have a similar appearance on Queen Palms.

Ray

[Tala]

Ray thats a good question and the answer is no they are not related. The Texas Phoenix palm decline is caused by a phytoplasma so it has more in common with lethal yellowing. These are spread via vectors (LY by leafhopper Myndus crudus and TPPD's suspected vector is also a leafhopper insect but not M.crudus).

also worth noting on this latest adventure is that there are type/host specific sub-species to each fungus (i.e. a single form attacks only dactylifera, a different one attacks canariensis, etc.). She mentions that this new one appears to be a brand new strain via preliminary DNA testing. Since we have no vector most likely it is wind blown, this the most potentially devastating issue. So good luck trying to contain it ... And if that news isn't troublesome enough it would be one thing if it only attacks Syagrus (perhaps we would have a control by limiting the planting of them), but it also attacks Washingtonia which are found throughout the state, probably more so anymore than Syagrus. But in parallel this is the same issue w/ TPPD and Sabal palms, there is no way to "contain" it ...

Edited November 15, 2008 by Tala

[iamjv]

Dave, once again thanks for the update and additional info. Good to know about this developing situation. Jv

[palmislandRandy]

By,by!

[palmislandRandy]

The end