Diplodia Canker
Diplodia seriata and D
12 host plants · Fungal
Last updated
Diplodia canker produces sunken cankers on tree bark of stressed hosts. You see dark lesions with oozing or staining beneath bark. The disease favors drought stress and enters through wounds. Remove infected branches and maintain proper tree hydration.
Grow resistant cultivars. Remove and destroy dead wood, wood prunings, and mummified fruit. Prune affected branches well below visible symptoms and sterilize tools between cuts. Avoid pruning during wet weather, which spreads the pathogen through fresh wounds. Maintain plant vigor through proper watering and site management.
What Should I Do?
- Grow resistant cultivars.
- Remove and destroy dead wood, wood prunings, and mummified fruit.
- Flail chopping prunings as fine as possible and leaving them in the orchard is acceptable.
Quick Reference
Management
Wound entry spring–fall. Symptom expression and canker expansion during heat and drought (June–Sept). Stress-triggered activation unpredictable. BBCH 10–89.
Stress-related canker pathogen (warm weather, drought-induced stress). Warm temperatures (80–90°F) favor symptom expression. Stressed, declining trees most susceptible. Entry through wounds.
Cultural Controls
- Grow resistant cultivars.
- Remove and destroy dead wood, wood prunings, and mummified fruit.
- Flail chopping prunings as fine as possible and leaving them in the orchard is acceptable.