Confirmed ganoderma sp (presumed zonatum) on Butia in San Diego

[jmelan]

I posted about a year ago about a Butia slowly deteriorating (http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/53740-fungal-infection-of-butia-capitata/).  A few years ago, we lost a nearby CIDP to what was thought to be fusarium (not confirmed).

Well over the past year there have been a couple of slowly enlarging white to tan growths from the base of the trunk that started to form what appeared to be immature basidiocarps.  This photo is from a few weeks ago.

I brought a specimen to the San Diego County plant pathology laboratory that has confirmed it is a ganoderma species, presumed to be zonatum.  The pathologist mentioned a number of similar specimens showing up in San Diego over the past few years from palm trees.  I have not previously seen much discussion here regarding the presence of ganoderma zonatum in San Diego.

We purchased the home in 2014 but my understanding is that the palm had been planted many years ago (around 2000).  

Of course, the palm will be removed ASAP.  Any recommendations for removal in San Diego would be welcome - had a lot of trouble finding anyone willing to remove the CIDP without a chainsaw.

 

 

[TexasColdHardyPalms]

Gandoderma in san Diego?????

[jmelan]

The plant pathologist said it is definitely ganoderma and likely zonatum.  Unable to confirm as the specimen was immature.  However, noted no other known species of ganoderma that infect palms in the US.  Has been seeing similar specimens in San Diego for the past few years. 

 

Here are a few more photos from what was removed and sent in as well as one more present on the other side of the trunk.  You can see the edge of the currently happy triangle next to it as well.

 

[PalmatierMeg]

I'm not sure why ganoderma should be so rare/unusual in CA. Is it the low humidity in summer? BTW, my research indicates that only Ganoderma zonatum (of 300 species) infects living palms.

[dmc]

Interesting...

[jmelan]

Just found this on reddit posted this week as well.  Photo of what appears to be ganoderma next to the trunk of a queen palm in San Diego.

www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/95hss8/ganoderma_zonatum_on_palm_tree_roots_san_diego_ca/

 

 

 

 

[Walt]

I can't speak for gano infected palms in San Diego, but I sure can for where I live. Thus far, for almost 21 years of my palm growing here in Lake Placid, Florida, I've only lost queen palms to ganoderma butt rot. I'm thankful for that. Over the years I've lost 10-15 mature queen palms to gano. Six of these queen palms I bought from the same vendor. It took about 10 years in the ground, and then they all started dying of gano. I had them planted in ensembles of three, but each group was separated by at least 300 feet distance. I have no idea if the palms had gano when I bought them, and that the disease just lie dormant for 10 years, or if the palms got gano from my property soil.

Currently I have three mature queen palms dying of gano. They all have conks at the base, and all have rusty brown weeping of the lower trunk. These palms have never been mechanically damage where gano in the soil could infiltrate them. But now the University of Florida states they don't know why some palms get gano. Their literature used to say it was mainly from mechanical damage from lawn mowers and string trimmers, etc. Also, the University says not to plant a palm where a previous palm died of gano. Well, I've tried that many times. Since I have volunteer queen palm coming up all over my property, and I must either cut them down, mow over them, or dig them up, I've had many palms to use as guinea pigs. I've planted new queen palms twice where old queen palms died of gano. The new queens lasted about two years, then they contracted gano and died. However, on the third replant of two queen palms, they have now been growing more than 3 years and are still healthy with no signs of gano. Also, where I had an ensemble of three queen palms that died of gano, I planted a new queen and one Serenoa repens (saw palmetto). Both palms are the picture of health, and the queen palm has about 10 feet of trunk, so this just adds to the puzzling way palms are infected or not infected by gano.

Below are a few photos of basidocarps (conks)  that were on some of my late queen palms. However, I've seen conks of all types of shapes, blunt and rounded, more like in the photos above on the Butia palm. The color ranges from brown to white. I break the conks off and burn them or put them in a plastic bag and dispose of them in the trash.

[GottmitAlex]

  On 8/17/2018 at 1:41 AM, Walt said:

I can't speak for gano infected palms in San Diego, but I sure can for where I live. Thus far, for almost 21 years of my palm growing here in Lake Placid, Florida, I've only lost queen palms to ganoderma butt rot. I'm thankful for that. Over the years I've lost 10-15 mature queen palms to gano. Six of these queen palms I bought from the same vendor. It took about 10 years in the ground, and then they all started dying of gano. I had them planted in ensembles of three, but each group was separated by at least 300 feet distance. I have no idea if the palms had gano when I bought them, and that the disease just lie dormant for 10 years, or if the palms got gano from my property soil.

Currently I have three mature queen palms dying of gano. They all have conks at the base, and all have rusty brown weeping of the lower trunk. These palms have never been mechanically damage where gano in the soil could infiltrate them. But now the University of Florida states they don't know why some palms get gano. Their literature used to say it was mainly from mechanical damage from lawn mowers and string trimmers, etc. Also, the University says not to plant a palm where a previous palm died of gano. Well, I've tried that many times. Since I have volunteer queen palm coming up all over my property, and I must either cut them down, mow over them, or dig them up, I've had many palms to use as guinea pigs. I've planted new queen palms twice where old queen palms died of gano. The new queens lasted about two years, then they contracted gano and died. However, on the third replant of two queen palms, they have now been growing more than 3 years and are still healthy with no signs of gano. Also, where I had an ensemble of three queen palms that died of gano, I planted a new queen and one Serenoa repens (saw palmetto). Both palms are the picture of health, and the queen palm has about 10 feet of trunk, so this just adds to the puzzling way palms are infected or not infected by gano.

Below are a few photos of basidocarps (conks)  that were on some of my late queen palms. However, I've seen conks of all types of shapes, blunt and rounded, more like in the photos above on the Butia palm. The color ranges from brown to white. I break the conks off and burn them or put them in a plastic bag and dispose of them in the trash.

Expand  

Walt, good thing you separated them from "the rest of the herd".  If the common debominator was origin, well, and seems so(ultimately), well, as you mentioned, you're thankful for it.  Having a plethora of beautiful palms, queens, in my view, are unarmed washies.

How's your coconut doing?  The oldest one)

[Walt]

  On 8/17/2018 at 2:07 AM, GottmitAlex said:

Walt, good thing you separated them from "the rest of the herd".  If the common debominator was origin, well, and seems so(ultimately), well, as you mentioned, you're thankful for it.  Having a plethora of beautiful palms, queens, in my view, are unarmed washies.

How's your coconut doing?  The oldest one)

Expand  

Alex, six of the queens came from one vendor. All the rest came from a different vendor (the ones I lined my long driveway with), and others were volunteers. I have two Butia only, and I would hate for them to get gano, nor do I want any of my other palms infected with it.

My fruiting coconut palm is doing well, the canopy starting to get back to normal (but still has a ways to go) after most of the fronds getting frost damage this past winter, along with the typical winter K deficiency. I was just yesterday inspecting the coconuts, and figure I will start picking some in about a month. One thing, though. So far this year not one flower spike has emerged. I thought by now there would have been 2-3 spikes. Hope you are getting some good growth on your many coconut palms.