This is a leaf off my chicago hardy fig, is this sun damage or is it a disease? We have been getting alot of 90 degree days here is northern illinois. I just want to make sure that it is sun damage and not a disease.

Any help with be much appreciated
Thanks, Mike

It looks like sun damage, you could try to acclimate your tree to the sun more progressively

Hey Mike

I was wondering if this has impacted just one leaf, all leaves, or all top leaves, but under canopy is fine? Some pictures of other impacted leaves might help diagnose this issue. Did this leaf fall off on it's on accord, or did you trim it off? If it is sun damage, make sure your tree is properly hydrated and moved to an area where where it's not in the hottest sun rays. I d want to see other pix of other leaves on this particular tree. Also, do you have other trees in the same area with similar effects? Good luck.

sun

sunburn

I don't think it's either.  To me it looks more like drought or lack of hydration stress. 

heavy wind and rain lately? that looks like wind and rain damage with bit of fungus attack that was left in the sun to get burnt. typical sun damage i see on my tree usually have damage along the edge. the discolor along the "vein" seem to indicate something other than just sun burn.

Showing the whole plant would be most helpful .

Sunburn/strong wind/dehydration/root burn/ any combination can cause this.

My version of definite sunburn.

Would a fig get sunburn like this if it had enough water?  That is, I though figs like a lot of sun, and I thought that any leaves that grew under those sunny conditions would, by default, be acclimated to that amount of sun.  (i.e. I'm not talking about the case of a tree putting out leaves while getting a certain amount of sun and then being moved to another sunnier location.)

I've got some figs that look like this, and I think maybe they went from getting too much water in June (due to rain nearly every day) to maybe not enough water in July...

Jim

My Okra has sunburned leaves this year but it has more to do with the fact I have it in a poly tunnel and on the end wall even worse.  Some mornings there is water or moisture on the leaves from dew, then it will reach about 45 degrees celcius inside by those leaves so with the intense sun, heat and moisture early in the morning, it's killing the leaves with scorch, it has happened to me with commerical grown cucumbers too under similar extremes, not to the extent of my okra but there can be many factors contributing to it.

Jim,
The answer to your question is maybe not. I have a few 1 gallon plants that need to be re-potted, they have outgrown their containers and will get similar looking damage on the leaf tips of the younger leaves at the top of the plant. They have been out in full sun for the past 2 months, but the potting mix is being dried out quickly by the leaves.

To me there is a difference between sunburn and dehydration.  Sunburn can happen when there is adequate moisture, roots, etc, and it doesn't even have to be "hot".  At first, there will not be wilting of the leaves, rather part or all of some or all leaves will turn brown/gray/silver.  

On the other hand, dehydration happens when there's not enough water getting to the upper part of the plant, and this can be for a few reasons: very very hot conditions, inadequate roots (either due to too small a pot, or recent root pruning/transplant, etc) to support top growth, or dry soil due to lack of watering/rain.

I can't think of any reason a plant would get sunburn, unless recently moved from a relatively shady or indoor condition to a relatively sunny or outdoor condition.  If it is an inground tree, then if you cut down a tree that was shading it, I supposed that could do it too. 

So that's why I say, if you haven't recently moved the plant, it's likely due a moisture issue.  Ironically, if the potting mix is very water retentive, over-watering can also create a situation where the roots can't get enough water to the upper part of the plant.  If the soil is totally waterlogged, the roots might die and won't work as effectively pumping water.

I'll also add that from what I've seen of fig trees, diseases rarely are the root of the problem.  Yes, if the plant is stressed and weakened, then it may start to succumb to a disease, but it's likely the stress came first.  One exception might be the root knot nematode, but I don't think that's present in your case.  And I have also heard of some who have been able to keep this parasite in check with the proper conditions.