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Sick Avocado Tree
updated: Mar 21, 2013, 2:54 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Anybody know what's wrong with my avocado tree? It's droopy and has brown spots, some leaves also have white spots. We had a bumper crop this year -- maybe it's just exhausted? lol Thanks for any insight!

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Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 387905	2013-03-21 03:01 PM
May have been from the freeze we had. Mine had leaves like that, but dropped them and is now getting new ones plus blossoms. I thinks its probably alright.
COMMENT 387919	2013-03-21 03:17 PM
Bears. :)
AUNTIE S.	2013-03-21 03:55 PM
droopy with brown spots? OMG, you just described me. Hope I don't have root rot.
COMMENT 387959P	2013-03-21 04:48 PM
The leaves are droopy because this is time of year that the leaves drop and new leaves appear. The brown spots are damage from the avocado physlid and not related. There are biological controls for physlids. Don't worry about your tree(s), they will be fine.
DANOO7	2013-03-21 04:56 PM
50% of the comments on this page made me laugh.
COMMENT 388001	2013-03-21 06:26 PM
You've got LHTS - low humor threshold syndrome. Consult a medical professional.
COMMENT 388017	2013-03-21 06:50 PM
959P...I disagree. This is an infestation that causes the leaves to drop and your avocados to burn from the sun. There is a cure, I just don't know what it is. Perhaps someone in the know will post a solution.
YIN YANG	2013-03-21 06:51 PM
Totally OT, but Thanks Auntie S! I feel bettah! Had a tree, it did that and came back. I think it is tired.
DAT WUT SHE SED	2013-03-21 11:51 PM
Mine looked like that after the freeze we had, but if fine now.
COMMENT 388077P	2013-03-22 12:10 AM
Freeze didn't help, that's for sure. Hope you're using a good citrus food for the tree. I like Island Seed & Feed's "landscape mix." All organic. Get some worm castings and dig those in a bit, too. Plants that are weak from not enough water, too much water, not enough good "food"/fertilizer are the plants that are more likely to get "sick" and/or attacked by diseases and bugs. Make sure you've got some good compost dug in, too. A healthy layer of well-rotted horse manure wouldn't hurt. Next time you hear we may have a frost, be sure and water your tree(s) enough. Hydrating them helps protect them from the frost.
LALALALA	2013-03-22 02:43 AM
The spots are Psylid. Treatable with a predatory Mite that can be ordered from Island Seed and Feed or from the County Ag Commissioner's office.
COMMENT 388117	2013-03-22 07:08 AM
Freeze did them in. Support your tree with plenty of nutrients and water, pull of some but not all of the dead leaves and remove them from the area. Your tree will be fine and robust and popping with $2 grenades in no time.
FLICKA	2013-03-22 07:54 AM
Good information here, with a little humor added; very nice. I'd suggest a visit to Island Seed and Feed, take along a leaf and buy products suggested here. Good luck!
COMMENT 388150P	2013-03-22 08:08 AM
I have about 200 avocado trees that I "inherited" when I bought my property. Frankly, I had never even seen an avocado tree before I came to this area, and I have had to learn things the hard way. Here is what I have learned so far: First, EVERY spring the old leaves get ready to fall off and the tree looks like H-ll. Who knew? I just thought my trees were dying! However, now that it was patiently explained to me....see the nice, new growth at the top? That's GOOD! Second, the person to send these pictures to-or take a few leaves that you are concerned about to-is Robert Muraoka M.S., B.S. He is the pest control adviser at Agri-Turf Supplies. They are located on Las Positas (although, so far behind some other buildings that they are very hard to find). I have "freaked out" several times...only to be reassured by Robert after I took him some of my leaves that I thought were infested (once, we did spray with an oil treatment). I am also VERY much a VERY organic "gardener." So, I spent quite a while searching out the best/greenest fertilizer. So far, my top choice is "Perfect Blend 4-4-4 FA" If you want more information on this, and you want to really talk fertilizer, you can call the guy who makes it. His name is Justin Leavens (805) 216-5260. BTW, it is carried at Agri-Turf. (Call George at Agri-Turf (805) 569-2257). If you want to stay strictly organic, you will have to accept that your trees will never look as perfect as those who go the chemical/non-organic route. I am willing to accept that. But, it's up to you. Finally, when I need an expert to come out to my orchard, I call Karen Christman at Arbor Services (805) 967-7779. She can do soil sampling and advise you. She specializes in fruit tree care and they can do expert (AND reasonably priced) expert pruning. She is smart and easy to work with and I never, ever feel overcharged. In fact, I have now used Arbor Services to trim my other trees and I have been completely happy with them.
KATYDID	2013-03-22 08:32 AM
Thanks for all the great info! (And thanks, Auntie S, for the laugh!)
COMMENT 388204	2013-03-22 09:11 AM
Persea mites, check the UC Davis site for beneficial hosts. And yes, avocado trees lose their leaves this time of year! However it looks like you have healthy new growth, or flush! Persea mite loves nitrogen, so don't give too much to the trees. It you only have a few trees, you could use a hose sprayer with soapy water and spray the underside of the leaves at the first sign of mites, i.e. a silvery webbing under the leaves, and at intervals till all mites disappear. My neighborhs and I wish we could do that as all our trees were infected last year, but our orchards are 500 trees minimum. Luckily i have tons of ladybugs this year, but still they might need help!
COMMENT 388216	2013-03-22 09:30 AM
It seems like you noticed the problem too late. All this damage was done during the summer. the problem is the persea mite. When the temperature gets over 90 degrees the eggs hatch and the little suckers suck all the life from your tree. Water it well and it should survive. This coming summer you will have to treat it for mites. You can get a lot of info at the following site. California Rare Fruit Growers. Or you can email me at stelart2 at gmail dot com. Is your tree a Hass or a Gwen?
COMMENT 388443	2013-03-22 03:27 PM
I smiled at the "Bear" possibility! My grandmother in Fresno used to toss the pits outside in her yard, and some sprouted. Cynics told her, "Dona Carmen, they will never bear fruit." But I am living proof that they did, as I sat under those mature trees, enjoying the fruit. She never irrigated, fed, nor sprayed....but then, you'd have to know my grandmother.

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