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help! Fig leaves crinkling and curled

Hello~

About two months ago I planted a fig tree in my backyard and have noticed that the leaves are crinkling and curling. I was hoping they would go away on its own but the new leaves are now also crinkling. 

The mottled leaves looks like FMV but what about the curling? I don't see any bugs except an occasional leaf hopper here and there. Is it fig mites? If so, how do I control them?

btw-  I live in Los Angeles and the tree gets shade in the early morning followed by plenty of sun.

Thanks in advance! IMG_5085.JPG  IMG_5086.JPG  IMG_5088.JPG  IMG_5089.JPG    



Are the leaves getting soft. It has a mild to medium case of FMV but may need some liquid fertilizer. But first check the soil and see if it has moisture build up and rotting the roots

Hi figpig_66

The leaves are actually hard and almost crispy/crunchy...

I've been watering about 3x a week. Maybe that's too much? What sort of fertilizer do you recommend?

I have noticed it on my panache and black Madeira, but both are fruiting. It appears to not hurt anything.
Does not appear on any other figs.

Hello, because fig trees have naturalized in your region the fig bud mite is also naturalized. They can spread by wind and birds from the wild trees in your area to your tree, or the nursery you purchased it from. There are several symptoms attributed to them.

Spotting from fig bud mites only appears when they feed on growing buds; after the leaves flatten out and begin to expand pale spots or blotches will form. If there are FMV symptoms you may not be able to detect them at all because they will be obscured, but if there is a branch that has grown healthy leaves all season begins to show spots there are probably fig bud mites on it. FMV symptoms are normally (like yours) localized on the plant, you won't see them jump from one branch to another, unless the fig bud mite is there...

The last picture looks suspicious because the largest leaf to the right appears healthy, FMV affected branches usually start out sick and get better as the season goes on and their growth rate increases, that looks like the opposite. Fig bud mite symptoms become more severe as their population increases in summer.  

The third picture looks like the leaves are all healthy, although the size of the figs tells me they stopped growing new leaves about 2 months ago... If those leaves were new I would say no way do you have mites because they would surely also be spotted, but if mites got on them after they were already grown you would not see anything. 

Also, Leaf distortion, russeting, browning and scarring of the ostiole scales and interior cavity of figs, cupped leaves, leaves dropping soon after emerging from the bud, complete defoliation and probably others I am forgetting. Since there are so many different symptoms and some look like FMV the best way to know for sure is to actually see them, or take a growth you suspect is infested you your extension office.

Thank you for your response. The spotting is on two of the three branches and seems to have gotten worst (they weren't there when it was first planted). What do you recommend I do? Should I get an insecticide just in case there are mites? Also how do I get new leaves to form on the branch that stopped growing leaves? 

If I were you, I would go for the recommended treatment with sulfur to be safe, if the amount of spotting has increased that also points to fig bud mites. A little liquid fertilizer, nitrogen specifically, should get your tree growing again. Watering 3x a week seems to frequent to me, but I know it is hot there. You should be watering deeply and waiting for the top couple inches to dry before the next watering.

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