Cankers on Tree Fruit

Cytospora canker is one of the most destructive diseases of peaches, nectarines, apricots, sweet cherries, and plums in Pennsylvania. Also known as perennial canker, peach canker, Leucostoma canker, and Valsa canker, the disease may cause trees in young orchards to die. Infected trees in older orchards gradually lose productivity and slowly decline.

Symptoms
The fungus attacks the woody parts of stone fruit trees through bark injuries and pruning cuts, and through dead shoots and buds. Visible first is the exudation of gum at the point of infection. The canker forms from a small necrotic center that slowly enlarges with the collapse of the inner bark tissue. Cankers enlarge more along the length than the width of the branch. Older cankers are therefore oval to elongated in outline.

For more infomation, please see this Penn State Tree Fruit Production Web page.

Penn State Horticulture Department

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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