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Whiteflies feed on plants through a needle-like mouthpart. Typical symptoms can include leaf yellowing, leaf wilting, leaf drop, and overall plant decline. Some whiteflies produce a white, waxy substance and a sticky substance that covers parts of the plant. In the worst cases, Rugose Spiralling Whitefly interferes with a tree’s photosynthesis and causes "failure to thrive".

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In the landscape where nutrient deficiencies are often problematic, pruning diseased leaves may make the deficiency worse. Your Tree Doctor needs to decide which will debilitate the palm most – the disease or the nutrient deficiency.

In many situations, the nutrient deficiency causes chlorosis (yellowing) and necrosis (death) of the leaf tissue, creating the wound necessary for Pestalotiopsis infection.

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By eliminating the deficiency symptoms, one prevents disease development also. Thus, proper nutrient management is critical for disease prevention and management.

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Photo by B. Dick, City of Lakeland, Florida.

This Phoenix canariensis  is exhibiting premature death of the oldest leaves due to Ganoderma butt rot. This fungus degrades or rots the lower 4-5 feet of the trunk. This is in contrast to the healthy palm on the right.  According to experts, there are currently no cultural or chemical controls for preventing the disease or for curing the disease once the palm is infected.

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Once you have observed the conks on palms or have a palm cut or fall down for any reason, monitor your palms at least once a month. Also, monitor the entire neighborhood -- not just your yard. These spores blow with the wind, so your entire community would benefit from taking measures to prevent the spread of this lethal fungus.

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Manganese deficiency or "frizzletop" on Syagrus romanzoffiana caused by high soil pH. Note that old leaves are full size, while young leaves are greatly reduced in size.

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Photo by mauroguanandi on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

The newest leaves of manganese (Mn)-deficient palms emerge chlorotic with longitudinal necrotic streaks. As the deficiency progresses, newly emerging leaflets appear necrotic and withered on all but basal portions of the leaflets.  Although the symptoms described above develop only on newly expanding leaves, the presence of symptomatic leaves lower in the canopy is an indication that Mn deficiency has occurred in the past..

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Cocoons of the palmetto weevil
Credits: Robin M.Giblin-Davis, UF

Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk of young palm trees up to a yard long. Larvae feed on the young tree's soft fibres, terminal buds, and open lesions. Thus wounding of trees, such as by pruning, should be avoided. Red palm weevils will tunnel through the internal tissue of the tree for about a month, weakening and eventually kill their host tree.

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The Tree Doctor promotes tree vigor by properly fertilizing and irrigating your palms, especially those not adapted for South Florida's climate, like the Canary Date Palm.

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Phytophthora bud rot is a soil-borne fungus that occurs naturally in South Florida, and can be spread in soil, on gardening tools and equipment, on plants, and probably instorm water. The fungus enters the palm throughwounds,and causes the disintegration of the bud orgrowing point at the top of the palm.

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