Almond Tree Issues – Dealing With Common Almond Tree Problems

Almond trees offer showy, fragrant flowers and, with proper care, a harvest of nuts. If you are considering planting these trees in your garden, you should be aware of almond tree issues that might come up. Potential problems with almond trees include both almond diseases and pests. To learn more about almond tree problems, read on. We’ll also give you tips for managing issues in almonds.

Cultural Almond Tree Issues

Some almond tree issues are related to improper cultural care, like irrigation. To keep these trees healthy and productive, they require regular water, but not too much. Insufficient watering causes problems with almond trees not just in the year the drought occurs, but in following seasons as well. Almond tree problems are most serious if the trees have inadequate irrigation in the early months of bud and leaf development. On the other hand, overwatering has its own dangers. Trees getting excess water and fertilizer are susceptible to hull rot, a windborne fungal disease. To prevent hull rot, give the tree less water about the time the hulls split.

Almond Diseases and Pests

Unfortunately, many different almond tree problems can arise that require you to step in to help the tree. Possible almond tree diseases and pests are numerous and can be deadly. Which insect pests can cause problems with almond trees? The trees can be attacked by different kinds of mites, including spider mites. Other almond pests may include:

• Ants (especially the red imported fire ant)
• Forest tent caterpillars
• Leaf-footed bugs
• Leafrollers
• Stink bugs
• Borers
• Scale

The best way of managing issues in almonds related to mites or insects is to ask your local university extension or garden center. They will recommend the appropriate action to take or product to apply. Many different problems can be attributed to diseases, and these trees are susceptible to many of them. These include fungal diseases as well as bacterial. Circumstances like the tree’s planting location and weather are partially responsible for determining which almond tree issues your tree faces. Whenever possible, purchase disease-resistant trees for lower maintenance. Proper cultural care also reduces the chance of almond diseases and pests. Select the best possible site, provide adequate irrigation and fertilizer, keep weeds down, and prune the tree as needed. These tasks will go a long way toward reducing future issues. Pay particular attention to preventing pruning or weed-whacker wounds on the trees. These are a prime source of infection of the fungal disease botryosphaeria canker, also known as band canker. If your tree does catch it, you’ll have to remove it, stump and all.