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organic_monty

Lychee Tree Help!

organic_monty
13 years ago

My husband and I recently purchased a parcel of land that has a large number of Lychee trees on it. One of our Lychee trees is not doing well and we are not sure what has affected it. Any help is appreciated. The leaves have a white substance on them, are seriously eaten, and are turning brown. Please see pictures here, as I'm not sure how to post pictures yet.

Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21346355@N05/4632393239/

Thanks so much!

Comments (12)

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago

    hello, where in Florida are you?

    looks like you are getting visited by the Sri Lanka grey weevil (Aka Asian Grey Weevil, Myllocerus Weevil).
    this little guy look familiar?

    they eat some of my old growth too but they are easier on my lychees then my citrus. i dont worry about them too much, my trees put on enough new growth to where it doesnt really effect the tree.

    they are impossible to eradicate without using a strong chemical like Sevin or Beyer insecticide that will be systemic in fruit trees for several months. the good news is i have never seen them destroy a lychee tree before, they are only a pest to it. if you could post some more pictures, it would help me assess how bad the overall problem is. lychees are sensitive to chemical burn

  • organic_monty
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Mango_kush......sorry for the late reply, I was never notified of a follow-up post!! :(

    We are in Palm Beach County.

    Ugghhh, we had some of Grey weevil damage on a Poinciana tree as well, almost killed the tree. Haven't seen any of these guys on the trees around here, but I'll look again. The entire tree looks like those leaves in the picture....no fruit this year, and totally eaten alive.

    I'll get some more pictures up, now that I know how to post them.

    Thanks for the help.

    Johnna

  • hmhausman
    13 years ago

    Mango Kush's suggested culprit is right on the money. However, in addition, I have also seen this type of damage done by what I call the Cuban May Beetle. For some reason I can't post the picture here, but if you Google Cuban May Beetle you see the little brown critter that mostly attacks Maney and Spanish Lime (momoncillo), but I have seen certain lychees also being eaten. They are voracious and eat throughout the night and disappear with the daylight. For some reason, only certain cultivars are affected.

    Harry

  • enduser
    13 years ago

    My Lychee trees are constantly eaten by the "leaf weevil". They are lime green in color and are hard to spot since they tend to blend in with the leaf color. They not only eat the Lychee leaves but they also consume the leaves on the mango, persimmon, and guava trees.

    I have had to resort to using Neem oil mixed with some malathion to control these pest. But even that doesn't seem to deter them.

  • organic_monty
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Does this beetle also cause the brown and white powder substance that seems to be on the leave? The entire tree is a strange color of brown. Not sure why this tree is the only affected tree, as I have about 25 trees all in the vicinity.

    Off to research how to kill this critter!

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago

    monty, sounds like might be sooty mold
    {{gwi:1315603}}

    because its only effecting one tree. is this tree in a specific location as opposed to the others?

    some more info in the link below

    Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_sooty/ht_sooty.htm

  • organic_monty
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    mango_kush......that's a thought, but it's more of a white/brown mold. I'll have to go out and look at the tree. It's mixed in with the rest of the Lychees, so I don't think it's location is causing the mold.

    Thanks for the help!!

  • hmhausman
    13 years ago

    I don't think what you have is sooty mold. What you do have is harder to say. I found this in the literature:

    Diseases
    Anthracnose ( Colletotrichum gloeosporioides )
    is the major disease attacking fruit. The fruit of some
    cultivars (e.g., 'Mauritius') are much more
    susceptible than others (e.g., 'Brewster').
    Occasionally, mushroom root rot (Clitocybe
    tabescens) kills lychee trees, often in land where oaks
    (Quercus virginiana) were previously grown. A
    parasitic lichen may occasionally attack leaves. Red
    algae may attack lychee shoots and limbs; symptoms
    include grayish to rust-colored, irregularly-shaped
    patches on the bark and bark splitting. For more
    information and control measures, consult your
    county agricultural extension agent.

    I wonder if what you have is a parasitic lichen. It looks like that is the possible diagnosis. If that is it, I have no idea what to do about it.

    Harry

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago

    harry, do you know if theres an extension Monty could bring a leaf into to examine?

  • gogreen777
    10 years ago

    Young lychee trees
    will deliver
    $50.00
    Please contact if interested
    south florida
    305 304 5386

  • gogreen777
    10 years ago

    Young lychee trees
    will deliver
    $50.00
    Please contact if interested
    south florida
    305 304 5386

  • gnappi
    10 years ago

    "Google Cuban May Beetle you see the little brown critter that mostly attacks Maney and Spanish Lime "

    Two years ago they went after my carambola and canistel. I went out there every night with a pair of needle nose pliers and kept squishing them. I must have killed a thousand of them but it seemed to have help put a stopper in their reproduction cycle locally :-)

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