AusBonsai

I have been growing fig bonsai for over 30 years and never had this problem before. As you can see the leaves are turning yellow with black spots all over them. The leaves die and drop off which has effected some figs to the extent of total defoliation. I am guessing it is a fungal problem . I have sprayed with lime sulphur ( I found this to be so toxic smelling that I can not use it in my suburban back yard) and Triforine with limited success. If anyone has had similar problems I would love to hear if and how they solved it. Thanks

Note, white spots on leaves is just residue from lime sulphur spray

Triforine is excellent at killing rust, and excellent at eradicating myrtle rust on a side note. I have used it before, and wanted to totally knock the problem I had out, and thus sprayed into the roots as well with a watered down concentration of about 5-10%. I was advised to test spraying into soil as well, and it worked on all the infected stock I had, but different problem to you. Haven't tried the chemical on a fungus. What concentration did you use?
If it is in the soil which it would probably be, you may have to bare root as well as spray, but this is not a good time to do that. But having seen pictures of your collection before, omg, that is just not an option you'd think.

I hate hearing stories like this. Have you received a long period of wetness for any reason in your area or any other changes?

Where is your location?

I think you problem lies in below the ground. Too wet or cold or both.

seen this quite common around sydney and the south coast area . Not sure what it is but i thought that continued wettness may contribute

I had the same problem on my pj fig. See link to post below for info and dates. I'd never had it before and was unsure like you. Still not sure what it is. Treeman said the same to me and I limited water down to 1/3 of what I normally would and only watered the soil. (Will repot this summer into more free draining mix)

viewtopic.php?f=133&t=19925&start=0

I also used this product. I found it when searching for an ingredient that I heard helps juniper fungus attacks that slowly kills the tree. I removed the leaves with any sign of black dots/yellow marks and sprayed the rest of the tree (all of mine infact as a percausion as I wasn't sure if it would spread - it hasn't) with this stuff. Then I seperated this tree from the rest of them and made sure it got as much sun as I could give it. I haven't had it come back yet.

They only other change I have made is to bring the figs affect under cover at night if frost is predicted.

Good luck
Michael.

https://m.yates.com.au/products/disease- ... -miticide/

Hi Bonsaiboy . Maybe try a copper based fungicide . I have limited expierance with figs but i have used the copper sprays on fruit trees with good effect . As you would know (but I will mention it for others sake ) once a problem has started good hygiene is the key to stopping it spread and it's eventual clearing up . I got the below quote from http://www.sgaonline.org.au/figs/
Fig rust and Anthracnose – both fungal diseases that affect mainly coastal areas, Fig rust produces powdery yellow spots form on the leaves. Anthracnose forms small brown to black spots, which develop into a larger patch of infection. With both diseases, leaves will turn yellow and then fall. As with most fungal disease, copper-based fungicides are normally used for control.

Spraying anything won't make the slightest difference. The problem is with the roots. They are probably damaged from any number of reasons. Too wet, too dry followed by too wet = rot, too cold + too wet = rot = leaf chemistry breaking down = spots and yellowing followed by leaf drop.

I had this happen to a fig of mine a couple of years ago. Wasn't taking up water at this time of year, with leaf spots and yellowing. Plant was root bound and in need if a repot. Ended up nursing through winter with bare minimum of water given to it- also no watering on leaves. Repoted late winter in better free draining mix and it bounced back.

matlea wrote:I had this happen to a fig of mine a couple of years ago. Wasn't taking up water at this time of year, with leaf spots and yellowing. Plant was root bound and in need if a repot. Ended up nursing through winter with bare minimum of water given to it- also no watering on leaves. Repoted late winter in better free draining mix and it bounced back.

LOL and I just root pruned and repotted a ficus the other day
I find in Sydney they grow year round and only just slow down over winter. Note I have a sheltered and sunny backyard.

BonsiBoy, Depending on where you are, pull it out of the pot and check its roots to see if there are any issues there. Too wet and soggy? too Dry?
Eliminate the obvious first if you can.

Ken

In hind sight I may have been able to repot straight away.... You live and learn!

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice. All my figs are growing in full sun and up near the Qld border so it is fairly tropical. Watering routine and rainfall has not been anything unusual this season. I will investigate the soil conditions and try to nurse them through to early spring before a repot. Thanks again

Hi Bonsaiboy50, any updates? Have you had any success in treating this?
I have a fig that seems to be coming down with a similar problem.

No success at all i'm afraid. I ended up defoliating and repotting all my figs rather earlier than I like to. Although I lost a bit of branching all the trees responded well and I hope will do well over summer.

Waltron wrote:Hi Bonsaiboy50, any updates? Have you had any success in treating this?
I have a fig that seems to be coming down with a similar problem.

I had this problem when I moved north from Sydney, and still have it, although it disappeared during winter. The locals have told me to just cut off the affected leaves, but didn't know what it was, said perhaps a type of scale. It doesn't always work. This year it has come back again just recently and we have had less rain that usual. The soil is very well draining and I am fairly sure the roots are ok, but they are due for a re pot, so I will have a look in the next week.
Lynette

bonsaiboy50 wrote:No success at all i'm afraid. I ended up defoliating and repotting all my figs rather earlier than I like to. Although I lost a bit of branching all the trees responded well and I hope will do well over summer.

Lets hope so! I'm glad to hear that they're responding well. Last week I sprayed mine with myclobutanil and today I repotted mine into a very free draining mix (2 parts mini pine nuggets, 2 parts 4-10mm pumince, 1 part 2-4mm zeolite). There was basically no root growth. I did the same to a chinese elm I have that isn't growing.