[Arid_gardener] orange trees

[Dick Gross]

Chris, the leaf curl could be a thrip that is common but not terribly damaging here based upon my own home experience. The discoloration could be one or a variety of things but the "clear plastic coating" I have no clue. I suggest that you phone the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, 602-470-8086 at 4341 E. Broadway and ask about a daignostic clinic held, I believe, every Friday. The representative will be able to advise you on how to prepare and where to deliver the sample.

Your local retail nursery professionals, Bakers is one in which I have confidence, can usually diagnose most problems. In my thirty years with five citrus varieties, I've found that most problems can be grown through with deep irrigation in the feeder root zone, the right amount of fertilizer at the right time in the right place with cautious pruning of dead wood only.

A citrus tree, most anyway, will abort any fruit that it has not the strength to hold but a healthy tree will set and later drop much more than it can keep.   A weak tree will obviously retain much less. The struggle for survival may have something to do with that phenomena, You may think zero crop when you see fallen fruit from pea to golf ball size all over the ground but that which sticks and ripens may be a bumper crop and you can accurately assume that fruit staying on the tree is everything it has the strength to keep. 

Dick Gross, Master Gardener Volunteer.  
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Chris Zeringue 
  To: Arid_gardener at Ag.arizona.edu 
  Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 11:07 AM
  Subject: [Arid_gardener] orange trees


  leaves are curling andhave discoloration. also have clear plastic like coating developing on them. fruit is falling off please help


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com 


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Arid_gardener mailing list
  Arid_gardener at CALS.arizona.edu
  http://CALS.arizona.edu/mailman2/listinfo/arid_gardener
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://CALS.arizona.edu/pipermail/arid_gardener/attachments/20061013/9f35ac47/attachment.html