[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[vchick49 at myway.com]

Valerie
85390
vchick49 at myway.com

Hello!  I have a question about our mesquite trees, which have been grown from seed on our property.  One thing that I've noticed is that shortly after a mesquite seedling appears, a hole--about 3/4" across, shows up at the base of the seedling.  As the trees grow, they leaf out every year but, not too long after, the leaves near the tips of all of the branches begin to wilt, discolor, and often have sort of "cobwebs" around them.  The tips of the affected branches don't seem to recover from this.  I'm worried that these trees have developed a disease from the drought.  I'd appreciate any information about this that might be available, and/or any ideas for treatment.  Oh, I see a lot of ants on these trees sometimes, and wonder if they may have something to do with the problem.  Thanks in advance for any information that you can provide.

Valerie