Lemon tree problems (forum)

Kakka starts with ...
Hi all,

New time user, but long time reader. Have been googling my eyes cross-eyed trying to find solutions to my lemon tree problem. Has been having issues about 6 months now. Have tried a trace elements foliar spray, addition of N (chook poo), neither has worked. Now showing more issues. Started as Veinal chlorosis and heavy leaf drop. After applying trace elements, leaves started growing, and as pic shows, now a full-looking tree. But now more signs of uh-oh.

Summary of issues:

* Veinal Chlorosis (green rather than yellow, so I'd suspect Manganese rather than Ze or Fe?)

*some leaves are actually yellowed, including veins.

* Red or black (different on different fruit) scabbing on fruit, some have the large black indentation suggesting a sucker has been feeding, and I've included a pic to show the inside of fruit where these indentations are. The rest of the fruit is fine when cut.

* Fruit often misshaped (pictured).

Is it possible I have a nutrient deficiency, PLUS a fungal disease or some such? It has been a rather wet summer, and the non-chlorosis signs were not the original signs, but started appearing only the past few months.

Time: 17th March 2015 5:36pm

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About the Author Kakka
Bendigo
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Kakka says...

Pictures - Click to enlarge

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Time: 17th March 2015 5:38pm

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About the Author Kakka
Bendigo
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jakfruit etiquette says...
Do the spots on the fruit rub off with your fingernail ? looks a bit like scale.
What kind of mulch is under the tree ?
Looks like pot mix ? Is it over active with fungi. Are the Citrus feeder roots in the mulch? I would get a soil pH test kit(not a meter) and test the pH of the soil under the tree before trying too many different corrections. A lot of nutrient deficiencies are due to pH. Also different Citrus rootstocks prefer different soil types, maybe you dont have the best rootstock for your soil, fixing pH may help.


Time: 22nd March 2015 9:35pm

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About the Author jakfruit etiquette
vic
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Boris Spasky says...
1. Fungal issues stem back to a wet spring at flowering. A copper spray in the spring will help. Also a good idea to skirt the canopy of the tree to improve airflow.
2. Distorted lemons often caused by bud mites. Not normally problematic enough to warrant action.
3. Rather than looking at A-Z of nutrients, try looking at the soil.
Bendigo is heavy clay if I'm not mistaken. Is there a drainage issue? Dry periods followed by waterlogging? I see sods of grass struggling around the tree.
If the subsoil is dry or poorly drained and prone to water-logging, nutrient uptake is hindered regardless of their abundance in the soil.
Or as JFE stated, there could be a pH issue.


Time: 22nd March 2015 11:15pm

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About the Author Boris Spasky

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Kakka says...
Thank you both for your replies :)

No, the spots don't rub off.

I have tested the pH, it's at about 5.5 - 6.5 (got two different colours on the test).

The mulch was a darker pine bark mulch. There's also a decent crop of manure in there (cow I think?, I didn't add it).

All roots are completely submerged in soil.

I will definitely take advice re: canopy (actually something I've been meaning to do for some time now, but never got around to).

Bendigo is indeed heavy clay. This part of garden is not too bad, as the house was built into the side of a slope and this entire back section is what was dug out, with plenty of top soil added prior to any garden being established - so no drainage or waterlogging issues. The whole area is pretty compacted (dandelions galore).



Time: 24th March 2015 1:04pm

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Original Post was last edited: 24th March 2015 1:04pm
About the Author Kakka
Bendigo
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Posts: 3
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