I have been in several orchards this year which have been determined to have Phytophthora Crown Rot. This disease is aggressive and can cause rapid decline of any aged tree. Conditions that favor disease include excessive periods of saturated soils and cooler temperatures, which are common in the late winter and early spring. An infected tree can be identified by a rapid collapse of the canopy and the observation of a canker extending from the soil. Often, when soil from around the crown is removed, the canker can be observed.
The occurrence of Phytophthora has becoming more common over the past few years. Reviewing my records over the past 7 years, farm visits regarding Phytophthora disease diagnosis and management were around 3 per year. Over the past two years, I have seen a 133% increase in annual visits. My notes suggest that this is due to lower quality of soils in which orchards are planted, poor selection of rootstocks for these soils, and mismatched irrigation scheduling for the soil type and tree size.
In managing this problem, the industry has relied on several cultural and chemical control methods. Below are a few of the cultural practices, chemical management, and problems/concerns regarding Phytophthora root and crown rot. More information can be found at the UC IPM website.
Rootstock selection. More peach-almond hybrid rootstocks are being planted in new orchards. These rootstocks are more vigorous and tolerant of toxic salts, but are susceptible to Phytophthora. In general, plum parentage rootstocks (e.g. Marianna-2624) are the most tolerant. Peach rootstocks, which include Nemguard and Lovell are moderately tolerant, while other complex hybrids (Viking and Atlas) have demonstrated some tolerance in greenhouse tests. Peach-almond hybrids (e.g. Hansen 536) are the most susceptible. Newer rootstocks remain untested (e.g. Krymsk-86, Empyrean-1, etc).
In some cases, varieties are being planted on different rootstocks (e.g. ‘Nonpareil’ on Nemaguard, ‘Wood Colony’ on Hansen 536) in order to increase vigor for the weaker growing variety. This has created issues in orchard establishment due to mismanaged irrigation during orchard establishment. Too wet of soils will cause increased losses on more susceptible rootstocks.
Cultural practices. Planting the tree properly and planting the tree on a mound or berm helps reduce infection. The tree should be planted high – no deeper than the nursery line- and the graft union should be above the soil as the almond scion is highly susceptible to infection. The mound or berm should be pulled prior to planting and shaped to allow water to drain away from the crown. In soils with low infiltration rates or high holding capacities, duration of irrigation should not exceed 24 hours, and preferably, standing water should not be present. If so, soil infiltration rates should be improved or shorter irrigation sets should be applied.
Saturated soil at the base of the crown should be minimized. Sprinklers and drip irrigation lines should be moved to as the tree ages and water applications increase to prevent infection.
Over-irrigation in the spring. Probably one of the more common causes of Phytophthora on heavy soils. Being too soon to “pull the trigger” on the first fertigation event creates water logging – especially when spring rains may occur. Furthermore, saturated conditions delay the development of the trees, often giving them a yellowish color, suppressing leaf development and transpiration. Subsequent irrigation will begin to kill roots due to anaerobic conditions, and Phytophthora will become established.
Marginal soils. A fair share of visits have yielded orchards planted on soils with high salts and heavy soils. Rootstocks selected to manage one of the problems often lead to susceptibility to the other. Salinity management often requires leaching, which can create saturated soils. I often advised to select a rootstock to address the longterm problem, and implement the best cultural practices for the other, but this may not always be possible. If challenging soils are planted, tree and subsequent yield loss should be expected.
Poor water infiltration. Becoming more of an issue with a reliance on lower quality of water. Soils will “seal” as different minerals are applied through the irrigation water. Maintaining a Sodium Absorption Ration (SAR) under three helps maintain a soil chemistry that is conducive for higher infiltration rates. Gypsum or lime is often used to add calcium for this purpose. There is some evidence within other cropping systems that cover crops, organic matter, and humic acids may increase infiltration rates. University research has shown benefits of cover crops, but University research within almonds for the other two products is limited.
Soil compaction should be minimized as this impacts infiltration rates. Reducing tractor passes, or avoid spraying after an irrigation or rain event. Cover crops can also help. It may also be helpful to allow ample room to turn around at the end of the orchard as too close of a pass to the first tree will compact the soil around its roots.
Vertebrate Pest Damage. Gopher, vole, and field mice can damage the crown of the tree, reducing the rate of water uptake. If the trees are irrigated at the same schedule as unaffected trees, they will be over-irrigated, leading to infection. Vertebrate pests should be controlled with baiting or trapping.
Chemical management. For the most part, the industry has relied on the use of Phosphonates (also known as phosphites and phsophorous acid products) applied as either a fungicide or foliar nutrient. These products are highly effective in suppressing this disease. Apply 1-2 applications to trees that are fully leafed out on a 2-4 week interval. Repeated use through the season has not shown any added benefit, but a second or third spray made about 6 months later in the fall prior to leaf drop may help reduce infections during the winter. Recently, however, a trade issue has been determined between the EU and the USA regarding the maximum residual level of Phosphorous Acid detected within the kernel. This issue will take several years to be resolved, and until then, the Almond Board of California has requested that the products not be used. If a phosphonate product needs to be sprayed, it is important that you contact your processor to determine if it is possible. It may be possible to redirect nuts away from the EU market.
Other chemical control methods include the use of mefenoxam (Ridomil Gold). This product has also been shown to be effective in reducing soil populations of Phytophthora. Applications should be made in the early spring or late fall to reduce populations prior to periods of favorable environmental conditions that occur during these times.
Amandeep
April 25, 2015Great article!!
David Doll
April 26, 2015Thanks Amandeep,
I am glad that you enjoyed the article.
Glenn Arnold
April 26, 2015Good comments on the relative suseptibility of the different rootstocks. It helps explain the difficulty of establishing new trees on hybrids vs. the more forgiving nemeguard rootstock.
David Doll
April 26, 2015Thanks Glen! I am glad you found it informative.
will martin
June 26, 2016Hi David, Let’s say you have a Phytophthora infested orchard and you get moderate stress readings for the stem water potential. Assuming you’re able to manage the infiltration and not supersaturate the soils, should you try and lower the stress level of the trees?
– Does Phytopthora slow the trees ability to transpire?
– How should you manage the irrigation for these area’s during June and July?
David Doll
July 1, 2016Dear Will,
Phytophthora affects the tree by killing root and crown tissue, reducing the movement of water and nutrients up into the leaves. Infected trees generally show crown decline or weak upper limbs as they lose their ability to move water and minerals to that part of the tree. So yes, it does reduce transpiration rates as it causes the plant to have water stress due to root loss. Managing is tricky. We have relied on the use of phoshphonate products to assist in the compartmentalization from a plant immune response and fungistatic properties of this material. In cases where these cant be used, trying to reduce conditions conducive for disease are a must. These conditions include puddling, saturated soils, etc. Applying irrigations that avoid these conditions would be best. This may mean that more frequent irrigations with a shorter duration may be used. I would try to keep the trees in a moderate stress level (~-15–20 bars)in hope that they recover. Keeping them wetter than this may be detrimental. The biggest issue with this strategy, however, is that the affected trees will require less water due to the reduced rate of transpiration.
Hope that helps,
David
Curt
October 5, 2016When a Almond Tree come from the Nursery Infected with Phytopthora does it also infect the ground where it is planted and does it ever leave the soil or is it always going to be there from that time forth. I am a new grower and my PCA has identified this in our trees not sure what direction to go we planted last spring we only have 8 ac of trees but have had to cull a 3rd of them shortly after planting and probably another 60 at the end of the yr will have to be replanted !!! What should I expect from the Nursery.
David Doll
October 5, 2016Curt,
When did these trees die? If they failed to push or pushed a 1/4-1/2″ and then died, there is a good chance that it was not Phytophthora. I have seen this occur a lot this past year due to poor or weak root systems. Often, the roots were dead which was most likely due to poor storage practices. Nurseries have to past phytosanitary standards (fumigation, inspection, etc.) which reduces the amount of disease coming in on material. If pathogens are detected on dead trees when performing sampling often reveals secondary pathogens. These infections occur when trees with damaged roots are planted, die, and then infected with pathogens in contrast to pathogens aggressively killing the tree.
In regards to what you expect from the nursery, you pay for a living, healthy tree. As long as your actions weren’t responsible for killing the tree (not tanking them in, storing improperly), I would suggest contacting your nurseryman and discuss the issue further.
David
Parm Randhawa
July 14, 2019David
I understand that multiple species of Phytophthora could cause infection. It is understandable that one species be more aggressive than the other. Would a lab analysis and species identification be helpful to manage this disease, more effectively?
Parm Randhawa
David Doll
July 30, 2019Hey Parm,
Excellent question. There are differences in tolerance/resistance among rootstocks to different species. Knowing which species is present would be helpful if trying to manage a specific issue at the time of rootstock selection. This would have to be done prior to planting and could be based on the previous orchard’s history.
Generally, most of the practices suggested in the article reduce the environmental conditions that favor disease, all which are useful regardless of species present. I think they should all be followed – especially with the amount of Phytophthora found within surface irrigation water.
Response to phosphite does seem to be active against a wide range of Phytophthora species. That said, knowing which species is present could help with future planning. We have found that isolating Phyophthora after phosphite treatment can be difficult – so it would be best to sample prior to the spray application. I dont know the particulars of Ridomil and species activity.
A long winded way of answering yes and no. The information on species is useful when the specific management plan against that species can be employed. Perhaps in the future this will become more relevant as we develop more site specific chemistries to control these diseases.
David
Raquel Gomez
January 22, 2021Hi David,
Are there any updates regarding the maximum residual levels the EU will accept in almonds?
David Doll
January 31, 2021Raquel,
Yes, there have been several updates regarding the use of phosphites within tree nuts. Most recently, the EU approved a 500 ppm MRL for tree nuts in 2019: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R0552
This should be high enough to ensure the proper use of this product with the general suggested timings of spring and post-harvest.
David