Cicada damage

[DE2IA]

We have a fairly young apple orchard (3-4 years old) that had some unusual damage this year. The last six inches of many of the branches has died off. We came to the conclusion that it was most likely damage from the cicadas this year. Apparently they damage thin branches during the egg laying process and the ends of the branches die off. Hopefully the trees will survive.
Just curious if anyone else has noticed it this year. Here is a link to a short article on cicadas damaging fruit trees.

http://insects.about.com/od/insectpests/f/cicadadamage.htm

 

[JNRBRONC]

My guess is fire blight, as I saw some in my orchard this spring.

 

[Medicine Man]

Fire blight will usually end up taking the entire limb(s) and eventually,if not contained, the entire tree. I would agree that cicadids caused damage ....very common for last 6 inches of limb to die on fruit and esp. oak trees.

 

[arrrgh11]

Saw the same thing on a lot of trees - both young and mature. I attributed it to those noisy little turds...

 

[loneranger]

It was from the Cicadas. I had it too. The larvae supposedly have dropped to the ground and have burruwed down to feed on tree roots. Not sure when they feed? I sprayed some grub killer around bases of my trgees. Maybe they don't feed right away. I think they are being fed on though.I have a ton of mole activity around the base of my trees!