Olive Tree Diseases Florida
Keeping an eye on your tree and addressing any issues early is important to keep it healthy and thriving.
Olive tree diseases florida. This pest can vector the plant pathogen xylella fastidiosa which causes pierce s disease of grape. Xylella fastidiosa will cause a rapid decline in olive tree health. Dacus oleae is actually a small fly that is only fed by olives. While olives grow well on almost any well drained soil up to a ph of 8 5 and are tolerant of mild saline conditions sand dominated soils are best as olives are susceptible to root rot diseases in moist or wet soils.
Black spots on olives this is a disease that experts call olive shield or dalmatian disease of olive. Galls up to 2 inches in diameter appear on the tree. Careful using herbicides near olive trees. Several fungal diseases commonly attack olive trees.
This pathogen is known in florida but has not been isolated from olive trees. Olive growers should be aware of the potential for problems with the disease. Leafhoppers infected with x. Fastidiosa have been collected almost every month of the year in florida.
The main symptom is dark spots that appear in the flesh of the olive fruit. Olives are considered relatively pest and disease free trees although scale can be a problem as with many other landscape trees in florida. The bacteria that causes this is xylella fastidiosa. Infection is also associated with an off flavor of the fruit.
Other olive tree diseases are cercospora leaf spot peacock spots and olive anthracnose. Olive knot olive knot is a bacterial disease that is spread by water and enters the tree through pruning cuts cracks or wounds on the tree. Additionally leaves can be damaged by caterpillars and grasshoppers. Glyphosate and some other herbicides are injurious to olive trees.
Dacus oleae olive fly the olive fly dacus oleae hits mainly the olive trees in the mediterranean region and can diminish the olive production in a few weeks. A native pest the glassy winged sharpshooter homalodisca vitripennis figure 2 has been reported by growers as feeding on olive trees in florida. Virticillium wilt causes wilted branches thin canopies and leaf dieback. Most likely it will be sometime if ever before it kills trees in florida.
The peacock spot disease thrives in humid cold conditions and causes lesions to form on upper leaf surfaces. Tree leaves dry out and the tree dies within a few years. Olive knot can kill young trees if infected. While herbicides will not generally harm mature olive trees.
Olive knot disease incidence is generally correlated with rainfall and is more severe in higher rainfall areas. Severe virticillium wilt kills entire trees. On older trees it reduces productivity by girdling twigs and branches and causes dieback.