What pest/issue is this?
I thought my African senna had aphids but now I don’t think so. The leaves are falling off and some branches look like they have mold. My husband ripped an edge off and it looks like an egg is lodged in there. What am I dealing with? #africansenna
6
Best Answer
@HumbleSaltcedar that might be the pith (soft, spongy core where a lot of nutrients are stored), it can be pretty soft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pith
Admittedly I do not have experience with this and am mainly trying to be helpful from a standpoint of being a perpetually curious, voracious consumer of evidence-based science/biology/etc information. Someone local with tree experience would probably be a great resource, as they may have combated the same thing; having previously lived in CA I imagine a lot of people would be excited to share tips on addressing something invasive (bc there is so much agriculture).
Fallbrook has a gardening club, it’s possible they’d be willing to share some recommendations https://www.fallbrookgardenclub.org/
The best resource is probably CDFA:
Hotline: 1-800-491-1899
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/reportapest/
CA produces most of the country’s food supply so CDFA should be extra motivated to help you with this… if you still have any of the egg type stuff you could try putting it in a sealed bag and see if CDFA wants to run any tests (if it’s something super aggressive I’d imagine they’d step in, and if it’s something more common I’ve heard from others that state ag depts are at least super helpful in connecting people to resources for this type of thing).
Wishing you luck in protecting your trees!
Admittedly I do not have experience with this and am mainly trying to be helpful from a standpoint of being a perpetually curious, voracious consumer of evidence-based science/biology/etc information. Someone local with tree experience would probably be a great resource, as they may have combated the same thing; having previously lived in CA I imagine a lot of people would be excited to share tips on addressing something invasive (bc there is so much agriculture).
Fallbrook has a gardening club, it’s possible they’d be willing to share some recommendations https://www.fallbrookgardenclub.org/
The best resource is probably CDFA:
Hotline: 1-800-491-1899
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/reportapest/
CA produces most of the country’s food supply so CDFA should be extra motivated to help you with this… if you still have any of the egg type stuff you could try putting it in a sealed bag and see if CDFA wants to run any tests (if it’s something super aggressive I’d imagine they’d step in, and if it’s something more common I’ve heard from others that state ag depts are at least super helpful in connecting people to resources for this type of thing).
Wishing you luck in protecting your trees!
That hole is suspiciously round. Recommend researching “twig borer”
That perfect hole and the symptoms you’re describing sound pretty consistent with some sort of twig borer beetle. For example:
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/black-twig-borer/
(Less informative links with examples of problematic species in California:)
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/grape/branch-and-twig-borer/
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cherry/peach-twig-borer/
They drill a hole, lay eggs, and introduce a white fungus that attacks the sad tree and provides food for their larvae. The infestations also cause rapid leaf death and botyritis (black spots).
Personally I’d chop off any small branch parts that look infested and immediately burn them, then do some research on how to eradicate remaining pests who managed to escape a fiery death and prevent reinfestsation.
That perfect hole and the symptoms you’re describing sound pretty consistent with some sort of twig borer beetle. For example:
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/black-twig-borer/
(Less informative links with examples of problematic species in California:)
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/grape/branch-and-twig-borer/
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/cherry/peach-twig-borer/
They drill a hole, lay eggs, and introduce a white fungus that attacks the sad tree and provides food for their larvae. The infestations also cause rapid leaf death and botyritis (black spots).
Personally I’d chop off any small branch parts that look infested and immediately burn them, then do some research on how to eradicate remaining pests who managed to escape a fiery death and prevent reinfestsation.
@smushface thank you! When I prune it back lots of the tunnels are deep. This is what it looks likelike when I cut way back and no tunnels are present. But the hole in the middle is like putty and easy to carve out. I don’t think that’s normal right?
@HumbleSaltcedar there is a species of borer beetle that is actively invasive in your region, definitely reach out to CDFA (details in my previous comment) and your county agriculture commission (https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/exec/county/countymap/ also linked to in the first UCANR url below)
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/Invasive-and-Exotic-Pests/Invasive-Shot-Hole-Borers/
https://ucanr.edu/site/invasive-shothole-borers/ishb-fd-distribution-california
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/Invasive-and-Exotic-Pests/Invasive-Shot-Hole-Borers/
https://ucanr.edu/site/invasive-shothole-borers/ishb-fd-distribution-california
Oh no! I don't know if yours has the same thing, but my African Senna DEFINITELY had aphids last year. There were also lots of ants. I sprayed them all with Neem and it got rid of them! But I'm not sure if you're having the same problem. :( I wish you luck, these are super cool trees, I love how they smell like buttery popcorn.
@smushface thank you for all of these resources!!!! I had no idea about any of them