Sycamore Maple Tree Diseases
- The width of a healthy sycamore maple canopy can spread as much as 60 feet. The dense canopy of this tree can serve as a safe haven for infectious fungal spores. Although the sycamore maple is less susceptible to foliage disease than its maple counterparts, it can be infected by anthracnose and gray mold spot, commonly known as bull's eye spot. These foliage diseases lie dormant in defoliated debris that lies around the tree area and are spread during the cool, wet spring periods. The infected leaves develop spots, lesions and blotches, which cause decay and premature defoliation. Timely fungicidal treatments and regular pruning assist in the control and prevention of these foliage diseases. Densely foliated canopies should be thinned to increase the light penetration and air circulation throughout the tree. This will reduce the germination of fungal spores that live within the canopy.
- Drought, injury and a lack of nutrients weaken the sycamore maple, making it susceptible to canker diseases. This tree's most common canker diseases are nectria canker, bleeding canker and eutypella canker. These diseases accelerate the cell development of the infected areas, causing the areas to develop lesions, calluses and cankers. These diseases also cause the infected areas to decay and, eventually, fall from the tree. Eutypella canker forms an infectious layer of fungi between the bark and the cambium that often weakens the entire tree, making even the strongest sycamore maple trees unstable. Bleeding cankers cause the sycamore's infected areas to become wet with fungal ooze that stains and deteriorates the wood. There are no chemical treatments to cure these cankers diseases. The infected areas should be pruned from the tree with sharp, sterile shears. Trees that are overwhelmed with these diseases should be removed and destroyed.
- Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne fungal disease that can survive for years in the soil without a host. This disease enters the sycamore maple through its root system and debilitates its vascular system. The infected vascular system becomes restricted and unable to pass water and nutrients throughout the tree. The sycamore tree presents symptoms that are similar to other diseases, which often make the infection difficult to diagnose. Symptoms include dieback, growth stunt and wilting, drooping and premature defoliation. Once a sycamore maple develops symptoms, the disease has already overwhelmed the tree. There is no cure for verticillium wilt, but sycamore maples can withstand the disease when properly watered and fertilized. The damaged areas should be pruned from the tree and destroyed to prevent cross-infecting other plants and trees.
- Armillaria root rot, or shoestring rot, generally infects the sycamore maple when it is already weakened by other diseases or poor growing conditions. This fungal disease attacks the lower portion of the tree, near the roots and root collar. The infected sycamore maple develops brown-colored mushrooms on and around the tree. Fungal tissue also develops between the bark and the interior tissue of the tree. The infected bark may split from the tree, and the sycamore also develops growth stunt and dieback. Similar to verticillium wilt, there is no cure for armillaria root rot, and the infected trees should be removed and destroyed.
