# Almond Tree Bark Damage
Almond trees (Prunus dulcis) belong to the cherry family and are a stone fruit. The trees are the earliest blooming stone fruit trees, producing their flowers in cold, rainy February weather. All almond trees require another variety for pollination. The tree bark suffers damage from a pest infestation.
-
Identification
-
Almond trees are susceptible to the shothole borer, a pest common to a variety of deciduous nut and fruit trees. Shothole borers are small, 0.10 inch long, dark red colored beetles shaped like bullets. The larvae are legless and white.
Damage
-
Shothole borers infest the areas between the bark and sapwood and feed on tender tree tissues. The larvae overwinter in tunnels in the bark. The beetles create tunnels into the wood through the bark and lay their eggs. Excavations get wider as larvae grow in size and fill the tunnels with excrement. Entry points on bark secrete a clear sap. Infested trees grow progressively weaker.
Management
-
Keep trees in vigorous health to better resist infestation. In areas with likelihood of winter damage or sunburn, use equal parts of latex paint and water to paint trunk. Prune and destroy affected trees areas in dormancy. Recommended insecticides include carbaryl or methoxychlor.
-
- Kinds of Smooth-Barked Trees
- Color of Bark on a Poplar Tree
- Arbutus Trees
- Rust Fungus on Tree Bark
- Trunk Peeling on an Orange Tree
- Fruitless Mulberry Tree Bark Damage
- Willow Tree Bark Boring Insects
- How to Heal a Tree With Bark Damage
- Split Bark on a Red Maple Tree Problem
- Dogwood Tree Bark Problems
- An Infestation of a Cedar Tree
- Maple Tree Root Damage
