Feijoa tree dying.

keytag, Jul 9, 12:31pm
Hi after some advice please.

I have 10 x 8 year old Feijoa tress, they are maybe 4 metres high, and have always been well looked after, healthy and well watered and every year have given an abundance of fruit.

In the last 2 weeks one of them had leaves on the sunny side slowly go brown.

I cut some branches and they are dry, I only had to push the tree back and forwards a couple of times and it snapped clean at the base, my guess it has died and dried from the base up .

Attached are a couple of photos of the base at ground level, there is some kind of white fungus ? or maybe just a byproduct of dying.

Definitely not due to lack of water and so far all the other trees are doing ok, but would like to know the possible cause in case it slowly affects the other trees.
Thanks.

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1571075931.jpg https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/full/1571075672.jpg

venna2, Jul 9, 1:19pm
I'm definitely no expert but have you thought of myrtle rust? Perhaps you could take a few of the affected leaves to either a garden shop or MPI or whatever it's called?

There's also something else that has been in the news lately but I forget what it's called. Or maybe a fungal disease?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/387991/fungal-disease-worsens-woes-of-feijoa-growers

harm_less, Jul 9, 1:33pm
From those photos I would suspect root girdling. If the plants had roots circling the pot/planter bag when originally transplanted they will thicken as the tree grows and eventually strangle the taproot. A common problem with trees bought from the 'bargain bin' selection of old stock at nurseries. Such plants should have circling roots cut (or untangled if possible) as you plant them out.

lythande1, Jul 10, 8:51am
10? They are a weed. I'm sure the death of one isn';t a major.

trade4us2, Jul 10, 9:26am
My feijoa trees were OK for a few years but the rats loved them. Last year I got very few fruit, so I will remove all my fruit trees. I can't be bothered with pests. I did catch a large rat last week. I am surprised it fitted through the hole in the mesh over the trap entrance.

kateley, Jul 10, 9:27am
At least if the rats are in your orchard eating fruit, they are not in your ceiling eating your wiring

trade4us2, Jul 10, 1:11pm
But they did try to make a nest on top of my car engine.
I caught another huge rat last night. The free traps that are being given out work very well. Made by a Mens Shed.

calostemma, Jul 11, 10:57pm
I left a are stationary in my shed for a fortnight while I was away and behold a nest appeared .Quite a cozy one too, I was impressed until I realized she had used the insulation from the bonnet (old type car)