11 Palm Tree Diseases – Signs, Treatment, and Prevention

Palm trees are a thrilling sight and they give good scenery to our environment when they are healthy.

However, when these palm trees are attacked by pests and diseases, it can be difficult for these plant trees to maintain their beauty and vigour, in some cases these palm trees end up dying. 

In this article, we are going to discuss 11 palm tree diseases, what their signs are, and how they can be treated and prevented.

Signs Of Diseased Palm Trees 

Diseases of palm trees are different so the signs will be different. Signs of palm tree disease might differ due to the type of palm and their habitat. Some general signs of palm tree disease are listed below. 

•  Leaves change their natural colour( leaves turning yellow or brown).
• Stunted growth 
• Wittering of older palm fronds.
• Spots on palm fronds 

Palm Tree Diseases

1. False Smut

This disease is caused by the graphical species: the graphical leaf spot or false smut is a palm tree disease that is usually common in places with high humidity and temperatures. 

Symptoms:

 Palm trees that have false smut usually have black warts on both sides of their leaves. Also, the leaves of the palm tree change the country too.  Sometimes the false smut on the leaves are difficult to detect especially In young palm trees

 Treatment of False Smut

• Remove the infected fronds to prevent them from spreading to other plants 
• Do not remove excess fronds from the palm tree to prevent the plant from dying. 
• Apply fungicides 
• Water and fertilize the palm tree.

2. Bud root 

When palm trees are exposed to severe rainfall or storms, they might develop bud roots.

Bud rot is a grey mould that appears when the environment has a high moisture content, the bud rots will occur if the palm trees were damaged during the rain or storm.

Sad to say, bud rot is not a reverse method that is why it is good to check for the symptoms early and prevent them. 

Symptoms of bud root.

• Slimy rot on the buds of palm trees.
• Wilting of leaves 
• Grey and mushy buds 
• New crowns not growing 

Treatment of Bud Rot

1. Remove infected plants immediately and discard them to prevent the disease from spreading.
2. Avoid irrigation of land.
3. Apply fungicides that contain copper to the already exposed palm tree.
4. Repeat the process again 

3. Pink Rot

When palm trees are weak or stressed, they find it difficult to repair wood tissues. This makes it easy for pink rot to attack these plants. Pink Rot affects the new growth of  palm fronds and generally any part of the plant 

Symptoms Of Pink Rot

• Fronds dying prematurely 
• Stunted growth of plants
• Affected parts produce visible pink spores.

Treatment And Prevention Of Pink Rot

1. Make sure the palm tree is planted at a deeper length.
2. Apply fungicides to the palm tree after pruning.
3. Ensure that the plant is healthy at all times 
4. Avoid causing injuries to the palm trees with gardening tools. 

4. Root Rot 

Root rot is a common disease that almost all plants face including palm trees.  The major cause of root rot is usually overwatering, waterlogged areas and poorly draining soil. 

Signs Of root rot

•  Yellowing of leaves 
• Roots looking mushy
• Rotting of the tree at the base
•  Roots change colour to black and often look very soft.

Treatment of Root Rot

1. Reduce the watering of the palm to only when the soil is dry.
2. Trim infected root and discard 
3. Replaces the palm tree in another area with fresh soil.
4. Apply fungicides to treat the plant. 

5. Leaf Blights

Leaf spot is a fungal disease that attacks palm fronds and leaves areas of the leaves with black or discoloured spots on the leaves.  Most leave spores spread by poorly sanitized gardening tools, wind, and water.

Symptoms of  leaf Blights 

• Brown, yellow or discoloured spots on the palm fronds
• Yellowing of leaves 
• Small water-soaked spots on palm fronds 

Treatment of Leaf Blights

1. If the infection is severe,  apply fungicide spray  on the plants
2. Cut out the infected plants and discard them.
3. Apply fungicides that contain copper to get rid of leaf Blights. 

6.  Ganoderma Butt Rots

This deadly disease is caused by the fungus Ganoderma zonatum and attacks different types of palm trees both indoors and outdoors. The fungus attacks the base of the plant and prevents the palm trees from transporting water upwards toward the stem.

Signs of Ganoderma Butt Rots.

• Leaves turning yellow or brown 
• Root rot
• Wilting of palm fronds 
• Weakened trunks 

Treatment  of Butt Rots

 Sad to say, there are no treatments for Ganoderma butt Roots as this disease kills the plants when they are attacked.  Nevertheless, there are preventive measures that can be taken to save the plant.

Prevention.

1. Prevent butt  rot diseases by avoiding root injury and bruises to the lower trunks of trees
2.  When planting trees in areas where trees have formerly died of root infection, remove old stubs and roots to reduce local fungus circulation.

7.  Fusarium Wilt

Caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum, this disease is different depending on the type of palm tree affected. Fusarium Wilt is a deadly disease because it has no known cure for now.  Signs of Fusarium Wilt may include:

• Wilting palm fronds.
• Discoloured or  brown fronds 
• Fading of green colour from the base of the plant going upwards. 

 Since there is no cure for this disease, your palm fronds will eventually die if they are attacked. 

Prevention 

1.  controlled by using clean seeds and removing infected plant tissues from the area.
2.  New plant varieties that are resistant to diseases should be planted 
3. The disease can occasionally be curbed with soil fungicides but this is not an effective treatment.

  8. Lethal Yellowing 

A microscopic bacteria known as phytoplasma attacks palm trees and causes lethal Yellowing disease. This disease is usually spread by planthoppers, attacks in phases, and affects different varieties of palm trees. This disease is mostly spread by insects. 

Signs and symptoms 

• The premature dropping of fruits from palm trees
• Flowers blacken before Wilting and dying. 
• Fronds and parts of the palm trees start turning yellow 
• Black patches on the fruits 

Treatment 

1.  Apply root injections to help treat the tree if the infection is minor.
2.  Remove the palm tree if the damage is massive 
3.  Replace the already damaged plant with new resistant species. This also prevents the further spread of illness to other palms.

9. Diamond Scale 

This is caused by a fungus called phaeoisariopsis neo Washingtonian. It produces diamond-shaped fruit on the palm trees’ leaves. The disease is more common in coastal areas and some inland valleys.

Signs

• The leaves first turn yellow before browning.
• Tiny watery-looking dark spots form and grow to diamond-shaped fruiting

Prevention

• To prevent further spread, replace the badly infected trees with resistant species. 
•  Always strive to keep the unaffected trees healthy and supply water as needed. 
• Check on the drainage and correct it if necessary as overwatering can worsen diamond scale in palm trees.

10.  Sooty Mould

Sooty mould is a fungal disease that feeds on the honeydew produced by aphids, scale insects, and mealybugs. It appears as grey or black mould on fronds and often has an ugly appearance 

Signs

• Sooty mould disease forms a black covering on the leaves
• It is often associated with the infestation of insects. 
• The soot appears on the trunk but mostly on the leaf surfaces.

Prevention 

To prevent the disease from recurring, control the sucking insects that produce honeydew – such as aphids. For smaller palms, sprayers are effective.

However, for mature and taller palms, use systemic treatments as they are difficult to spray.

11.  Thielaviopsis Trunk Rot

Thielaviopsis trunk rot is a palm disease caused by the fungus called the thielaviopsis paradox. The disease causes the palm tree trunk to collapse on itself. The fungus affects fresh trunk wounds. Sometimes the canopy suddenly falls off the trunk, despite appearing healthy, before collapsing.

Signs

• The major sign is always stemmed bleeding.
•  lowest leaves hanging down the canopy and dying prematurely.

Treatment 

1. Once infected, get rid of the palm and destroy the diseased trunk portion. 
2. To prevent the disease, limit the man-made wounds on the trunk, especially on the upper third of the trunk.

How Do You Use Fungicide On Palm Trees?

 We have learnt that using fungicides is one of the primary and most effective ways to get rid of diseases on palm trees.

To apply these fungicides simply Mix the fungicide with water and apply it as a cover spray. Apply 4 -6 teaspoons per gallon, beginning when disease’s first symptoms appear. Repeat every 7 to 10 days as needed to control disease infections from spreading. 

What Is The Best Palm Tree Fertilizer?

Although there are a lot of palm tree fertilizers, it is important to get the best for our palm trees. Certain criteria determine if fertilizer is good or not.

It is best to make use of slow-release fertilizer which will supply the file with the necessary nutrients it needs in a couple of months. if the fast-releasing fertilizers are used especially in sandy soil; the effect will be washed away by a few rainfalls. 

Below are a few fertilizers that have been said to be the best fertilizers for palm trees.

1. Jobe’s Fern & Palm Fertilizer Spikes
2. Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed Palm Plant Food
3. Espoma Organic Palm-Tone Plant Food
4. Jobe’s Organics Palm Tree Granular Plant Food

In conclusion, palm tree diseases always damage weakened trees. Healthy palms can resist pests and also diseases. That is why it is important to keep your palm trees healthy through sufficient maintenance, providing the right growing situations, watering enough, and fertilizing when necessary.