Spots on Persimmon Leaves
Common persimmon (Diospryos virginiana) trees grow wild from southern New England to the Gulf Coast, west to Texas and Nebraska and in Utah and California. Adaptability and edible fruit make persimmons desirable landscape additions. The trees, however, are vulnerable to leaf spot fungal disease. Does this Spark an idea?
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Persimmon-Infesting Fungi
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Fungal leaf spot infestations are the most prevalent of all ornamental tree diseases. Cercospora, coniothyrium, elsinoe, sphaceloma, mycosphaerella and physalospora fungi all attack persimmon trees.
Leaf Spot Effects
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Untreated leaf spot fungi -- especially gloeosporium, cercospora and coniothyrium -- may cause premature leaf yellowing or browning or leaf drop. Early leaf drop weakens persimmon trees by reducing photosynthesis. Elsinoe or sphaceloma fungi may also damage a persimmon's flowers or fruit.
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Manual Treatment
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Early spring feeding with ammonium nitrate fertilizer of urea and weekly watering to a depth of 1 foot in extended drought will strengthen persimmons after defoliating leaf spot attacks. Pruning densely branched trees promotes air circulation and hastens leaf drying.
Chemical Treatments
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Stressed, drought-stricken, newly transplanted or otherwise weakened persimmons may benefit from fungicide spray applications when the tree's buds appear in spring and one to two weeks later. Rainy weather necessitates additional applications.
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References
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Plants Profile: Diospryos Virginiana: Common Persimmon
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Diospyros Virginiana: Common Persimmon
- University of Illinois Extension: Fungal Leaf Spot Diseases of Shade and Ornamental Trees in the Midwest
- University of Connecticut Integrated Pest Management: Leaf Spot Disease of Trees and Shrubs
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
