- Author: Ben Faber
Even though it's been a mild winter; other than fire, rain and some cool nights, we did have a few days of hot weather, which is just what sets off citrus dry root rot. It pops up after the first hot weather of the spring, and there it was driving down the road. There's nothing that can be done with this tree. Tree removal and replacement is the answer. Prevention is the solution. We know that Fusarium fungus is usually associated with the collapse, but wounding is the key. Mechanical injury from weed whips, discs, gophers, voles, rabbits. Wounding from salt damage might do it too.
Dry root rot, a disease caused by the soil fungus Fusarium solani, has a long history of hindering production of citrus in California. Fusarium solani is a weak pathogen that infects only when there is some kind of stress in citrus tree. However, presence in almost all citrus orchards everywhere in the world including California, enhance its quick exploitation of such stresses. Some of the factors that are possible stress include invasion by other pathogens, such as Phytophthora and Citrus Tristeza Virus (CTV). Other stresses are wounding by gophers/rodents or insects, girdling, asphyxiation especially drowning the tree with too much water, soil nutrient content and fertilization, irrigation, and other cultural practices in the orchard. The pathogen is an opportunist on citrus. With the stress, Fusarium solani begins infection by colonizing the cortical tissue of feeder roots, advances into the lower tap root and/or scaffold root, and move up through the bud union into the center of the trunk. Studies over the years have shown that many rootstocks are susceptible and old trees as well as young twigs are not spared of the disease.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r107100211.html
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=17821
Photo: collapsed tree near and older one on the right, but also near a younger one that probably was a replacement for one that had collapsed several years prior
- Author: Ben Faber
This has been a hot time. Look for irrigation problems, but also look for other weather related problems. This is possibly the most shocking.
If you see your citrus tree suddenly collapse. It happens on a weekend or in a few days, and it has suddenly turned hot with a Santa Ana or Sundowner, it is quite likely "Dry Root Rot". This is a situation where the water conducting tissues, the xylem, have been clogged by fungi and when a sudden demand for water comes from the weather, the tree collapses because it can not support the movement of enough water to satisfy that demand. It is more common along the coast than the Valleyk, but it does occur there, as well.
It starts with some type of wound to the crown roots or stem - gophers or field mice nibbling away at the roots or crown. Or damage from weed whipping or some sort of mechanical damage. This allows entry of the Fusarium fungus that causes the xylem clogging. You can usually see the damaged tissue just below the bark, near the base of the tree. The damage has usually occurred several years prior and takes awhile for the fungus to do its clogging. There's no know cure for this situation. Cut the tree out. It's not particularly contagious as far as we know. The fungus is cosmopolitan, meaning it is found in most orchards, and it just waiting for a wound to invade. You can replant into the orchard, but just avoid causing wounding.
Dry root rot affects all citrus species and varieties.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r107100211.html
Photos:
Collapsed canopy, grapefruit
Dead tissue below the bark
- Author: Ben Faber
- Author: Craig Kallsen
- Author: Akif Eskalen
Dry Root Rot is a pretty fantastic disease symptom that is usually seen in lemon, but can be seen in orange, as well.
Craig Kallsen, UCCE Citrus Advisor in Kern Co. comments on a disease sample:
I have seen a lot of dry root rot over the years. It usually is something that damages or weakens the root system which allows a Fusarium species to colonize the rootstock. It is very common in older lemon groves that froze at some point in their past. Also common in groves that suffered a lot of gopher damage or where the wraps got too hot in the sun burning the bark and cambium. I have also seen it in cases of fertilizer or other soil-applied chemical burn. I have no doubt that graft incompatibility could do it too.
Akif Eskalen, UCCE Plant Pathology Specialist chimes in on a disease sample submitted:
As you can see from the attached picture there is a weird callus formation and symptoms of incompatibility at the graft union which I think is the primary cause of decline. We didn't observe any discoloration in the scion, however rootstock was completely discolored where we isolated Fusarium solani the causal fungus of Dry Root Rot. Dry root rot caused by either Fusarium solani and/or Fusarium spp. When there is a disconnection at the graft union, the phloem can not transfer enough carbohydrate to the rootstock to feed feeder roots. Fusarium fungal species are present in the soil and they can attack and easily colonize on starch depleted roots and cause DRR.
We still don't know what is causing the graft incompatibility on these plants. That needs to be investigated.
It's still not clear how and why citrus becomes affected.
- Author: Neil O'Connell
Dry root rot has been a problem in citrus orchards for many years. Although generally a problem in coastal and northern California counties it has been reported in other citrus producing areas of the state. When present it generally occurs as a chronic problem affecting only a few trees in the orchard. Trees may be invaded at any time from planting to maturity; frequently mature, good producing trees are invaded. Once infection has occurred, it may be several years before any symptoms are visible in above-ground portions of the tree. Symptoms may be a gradual leaf drop and twig dieback or a sudden death of leaves which dry and remain in place. The tree rapidly collapses as a critical mass of roots is damaged or the crown area is girdled. Investigations of declining trees in the past revealed decaying bark in the root system and/or crown area of the tree which was thought to involve brown rot gummosis caused by Phytophthora invasion. The decaying bark area eventually dried and cracked. No gumming was observed, however, as is typical of brown rot gummosis. A grey staining of the woody portion of root or crown tissue was observed which is not seen with Phytophthora where only the cambium tissue is affected. Further investigations by researchers revealed that in affected tissue in these declining trees Fusarium solani could be isolated. Other organisms including bacteria and weak parasites and saprophytes could be isolated as well. Tissue samples from affected trees have consistently yielded Fusarium spp. Microscopic examination of affected areas revealed a plugging of the water conducting xylem tissue. During high temperatures, this plugging could result in slight wilt or rapid collapse of the tree depending upon the percentage of water conducting elements affected in the roots or crown area. Early investigations in declining orchards identified stress factors which seem to predispose the tree to invasion by the organism which is not possible without one or more of these agents. Stress factors identified included environmental factors such as drought, cultural such as damage from fertilizer, herbicide, nematicide or waterlogging, and damage from rodents such as gophers. Chemical agents applied at critical periods or in excessive amounts appeared to be stressful to affected tissue thus rendering it susceptible to invasion. Water ponding next to the trunk of the tree or waterlogging of the roots was associated with invasion of root or crown tissue and later colonization by this wood rotting organism. Stress produced in the tree together with the presence of the dry root rot organism is thought to predispose the tree to invasion of the organism. Research involving the mechanisms of invasion of Fusarium involved exposure of seedlings to hot water and then the dry root rot organism which resulted in invasion where exposure to the organism without previous exposure to high temperature did not result in invasion. It was hypothesized that high temperatures may have interfered with natural defense mechanisms allowing invasion. Research has identified a relationship between Phytophthora and the vascular wilt causing Fusarium spp. Phytophthora lesions on roots favored the invasion of the Fusarium. Seedlings exposed to only the wilt causing organism were not invaded, but were invaded if exposed to Phytophthora and then the wood rotting organism. A relationship was established between temperature and invasion of Phytophthora. Seedlings were not invaded by Phytophthora in a medium at 75 or 65 degrees but were at 55 degrees. Results suggested that the seedling formed scar/callus tissue capable of excluding the organism at higher temperature but was unable to do so at the lower temperature. While most commercial rootstocks possess a moderate to high degree of tolerance to Phytophthora invasion, all rootstocks are thought to be susceptible to the dry root rot organism.
- Author: Neil O’Connell University of California Cooperative Extension, Tulare County
Dry root rot has been a problem in citrus orchards for many years. Although generally a problem in coastal and northern California counties it has been reported in other citrus producing areas of the state. When present it generally occurs as a chronic problem affecting only a few trees in the orchard. Trees may be invaded at any time from planting to maturity; frequently mature, good producing trees are invaded. Once infection has occurred, it may be several years before any symptoms are visible in above-ground portions of the tree. Symptoms may be a gradual leaf drop and twig dieback or a sudden death of leaves which dry and remain in place. The tree rapidly collapses as a critical mass of roots is damaged or the crown area is girdled.
Investigations of declining trees in the past revealed decaying bark in the root system and/or crown area of the tree which was thought to involve brown rot gummosis caused by Phytophthora invasion. The decaying bark area eventually dried and cracked. No gumming was observed, however, as is typical of brown rot gummosis. A grey staining of the woody portion of root or crown tissue was observed which is not seen with Phytophthora where only the cambium tissue is affected. Further investigations by researchers revealed that in affected tissue in these declining trees Fusarium solani could be isolated. Other organisms including bacteria and weak parasites and saprophytes could be isolated as well.
Tissue samples from affected trees have consistently yielded Fusarium spp. Microscopic examination of affected areas revealed a plugging of the water conducting xylem tissue. During high temperatures, this plugging could result in slight wilt or rapid collapse of the tree depending upon the percentage of water conducting elements affected in the roots or crown area.
Early investigations in declining orchards identified stress factors which seem to predispose the tree to invasion by the organism which is not possible without one or more of these agents. Stress factors identified included environmental factors such as drought, cultural such as damage from fertilizer, herbicide, nematicide or waterlogging, and damage from rodents such as gophers. Chemical agents applied at critical periods or in excessive amounts appeared to be stressful to affected tissue thus rendering it susceptible to invasion. Water ponding next to the trunk of the tree or waterlogging of the roots was associated with invasion of root or crown tissue and later colonization by this wood rotting organism. Stress produced in the tree together with the presence of the dry root rot organism is thought to predispose the tree to invasion of the organism.
Research involving the mechanisms of invasion of Fusarium involved exposure of seedlings to hot water and then the dry root rot organism which resulted in invasion where exposure to the organism without previous exposure to high temperature did not result in invasion. It was hypothesized that high temperatures may have interfered with natural defense mechanisms allowing invasion. Research has identified a relationship between Phytophthora and the vascular wilt causing Fusarium spp. Phytophthora lesions on roots favored the invasion of the Fusarium. Seedlings exposed to only the wilt causing organism were not invaded, but were invaded if exposed to Phytophthora and then the wood rotting organism. A relationship was established between temperature and invasion of Phytophthora. Seedlings were not invaded by Phytophthora in a medium at 75 or 65 degrees but were at 55 degrees. Results suggested that the seedling formed scar/callus tissue capable of excluding the organism at higher temperature but was unable to do so at the lower temperature.
While most commercial rootstocks possess a moderate to high degree of tolerance to Phytophthora invasion, all rootstocks are thought to be susceptible to the dry root rot organism.