Fusarium Wilt in Palm Trees. Beware Tampa!

Ever since 2003, the whole state of Florida is talking about the heart-wrenching effects of Fusarium Wilt. This threatening disease has stolen several palm beauties of Florida. The sad part being that there is no cure for this devastating fungal plant disease. However, there are few precautions, tips and techniques that can help you save your palm trees from Fusarium wilt.

Fusarium Wilt:

A fungal plant infection or disease that is caused by fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Similar to other fungal infection properties, Fusarium wilt also is spread through fungal spores. Heavy winds and storm, water, infected transplants, etc., are carriers of the spores. Once the spores settle on a herbaceous species, they germinate into the plant, thereby affecting it completely. Since the fungus is rapid at transmission, the risk for other trees or plants in the vicinity being affected is obvious and large.

Tampa palm trees are no exception from being affected with Fusarium wilt. It is a necessity that you take all required precautions to save your Floridan beauties if your palm trees are towering beauties outside your home or building. For estimates on fungicides or more help on precautionary methods, call us at Tampa Tree Works today.

Fusarium wilt symptoms:

In Tampa, Florida, the palm varieties that are predominantly affected with Fusarium wilt are, the Queen palm and Washingtonian or Mexican fanned palm. The symptoms to identify the disease is simple; it starts off with chlorosis (yellowing of leaves), starting from the older leaves at the bottom and gradually spreads to the top, the plant’s growth is stunted, the foliage turns brown and dry. This complete browning of foliage is the significant feature of this disease. The rachis in both palm species turns red and then it spreads to the leaflets. The palm tree once infected will die out in a few months. Some coastal palms or those in more moist areas have been noticed to die out less rapidly, in comparison to those trees in more dry and desert areas. Fusarium wilt will lead to pink rot in some cases, which will hasten the tree’s death. Supervised application of Thiophanate-methyl fungicide will prevent pink rot from developing on trees already infected with Fusarium wilt.

There is no remedy or cure for Fusarium wilt. The infected plant or tree is removed and the place is disinfected thoroughly. However, if your palm is lucky enough to be spotted right at infancy, there is an EDA approved antibiotic injection, that is inoculated into the trunk. The antibiotic is called OTC (oxytetracycline HCL), and this has to be administered every 4 months throughout the palm’s age. For further details on the vaccination and its usage, contact our arborist.

Prevention:

The queen palm exhibits its symptoms of Fusarium wilt slowly through its foliage. If you notice closely, queen palms affected with this fungal disease, will show a different coloration on the leaflets on one side of the rachis first. Later, it spreads to the other side as well.

The only precautionary method for this disease is regular monitoring of the tree’s health right from when it’s young. Prune the tree, use fertilizers, apply anti-fungal agents and keep your plant safe from pathogenic attack. Have an arborist inspect your plant, if you notice any unusual coloration in the tree foliage or crown. Ensure your plant pruning and trimming is done following the right procedures by a professional. If you happen to find any moulds or wilting in the plant, have them removed by a professional alone! If you aren’t an expert at this, the chances are that you might spread the infection through unsystematic removal. Always be on track when it comes to sanitising pruning tools! The biggest and most forgotten disease carriers are pruning tools. Even if it is an arborist who carries out all pruning procedures and other tree maintenance techniques, you should still be sure enough to check with them that the tool and equipment that they use are thoroughly sanitised.

Palm trees are Florida’s aesthetic landmark. If you are a tree owner who loves palm trees or owns them, take a step to saving them from today! For help on wilt removal or any clarifications that you have on the same, reach out to us at Tampa Tree Works, Tampa, Florida.

How to protect my trees from bad weather in Tampa?

Unpredicted devastating weather causes more damage than good. Quite visibly, trees are no exception to this weather. A badly maintained tree or a tree in poor health isn’t going be affected by storm alone, rather the damage that it further imposes on liabilities is the greater task to face later on. Within the state of Florida, the unsuspected weather is something that all tree owners and homeowners should look into with a keen eye.

How to protect trees? The answer to this is also quite simple. A few techniques that are recommended by tree professionals or arborists, when followed systematically, it will provide your tree the best safety (better than when left unattended). For assured storm protection, hurricane safety tips, lightning safety tips, etc., you can also contact our arborists at Tampa Tree Works, for any further help or inspection that your trees may require.

Keep your trees fit

Nothing can be done to protect your trees on the day of the storm or just a day before. You should start focussing on your tree’s good health right from day one. A healthy trunk, strong branches or limbs, well-established root system, are the characteristics which are going to stand by your tree to battle a storm or flood or any other bad weather.

Regular pruning and trimming! It is a must in tree health. Have an arborist to inspect your tree at regular intervals and carry out pruning techniques, that are best suitable or prescribed for your tree type. Pruning should be carried out in the right manner, the correct procedures, techniques, and methods must be followed. If you have been pruning your trees yourself, make sure an arborist also checks the tree’s condition once in few months. When you prune, you remove weak branches, loose limbs, you keep a check on tree diseases and infections that have been eating your tree away. In return, during a storm or high winds, you need not be worried of loose branches or limbs from causing further damage to other liabilities in the landscape. A tree’s branch structure and its attachment to the tree’s trunk are 2 important factors that determine how strong and susceptible the branches  are. Look into protective pruning as one of the steps to protect trees during the storms.

Always be on guard when it comes to pathogenic attack. A weak hollow trunk is not a good sign for a tree on any day. Keep a check for cavities and always ensure your tree has a good trunk density. If not, one bad storm would snap your tree in no time.

Root care

Firm root connection guarantees firm trees during the floods. Root pruning, mulching, healthy roots and root collar or root flare exposure- concentrate on each of these factors to keep your trees firmly grounded during bad weather. Loosely attached roots will uproot any whole tree quite easily during floods and hurricane. Adopt mulching to increase root health. A mulch ring is placed around the tree’s base to retain moisture and facilitate water movement. Moreover, while mowing, after your trees are secured with mulch rings, you will also be careful that you do not damage the tree’s roots. Root flare or root collar exposure also ensures that the tree’s root system is safe from rotting and the root receives an equal share of oxygen content. Strong roots, better resistance to the floods!

Lightning protection system

Lightning destroys anything that provides it a passage to discharge electrical current. Tree with their towering heights has been paths for this electrical charge, leaving the tree completely exhausted and incapable of restoration. Installation of lightning protection system in your landscape or yard is one of the best measures to protect tree against a lightning strike, especially if you have beautiful tall towering trees in Tampa. For the best system and estimates, talk to our arborist at Tampa Tree Works in Tampa, Florida today.