Sudden Death of a Kaffir Lime Bush

[Oxx]

Two and a half months ago I planted a kaffir lime bush. Within a few days it started producing new leaves and flowered. The flowers turned into fruit which started to swell. However, yesterday morning all the leaves were curled and shrivelled. This literally happened overnight. (I'd watered it the previous evening and it was looking fine.) What could have caused such a rapid decline? Here are a couple of photos:

Some facts that may or may not be relevant:

- There is no recent insect damage to the leaves and there are no insects inside the curled leaves

- The bush has been watered daily

- At first the leaves were eaten by tiny ant. I mixed coffee grounds into the topsoil and the ants went away.

- It probably has not been pee'd on by my dogs (they prefer to pee on the lemongrass bushes, which gives my tom yam kung a certain je ne sais quoi); there's no scorchmark on the ground.

- I haven't applied any fertiliser or other chemical

- There are no termites around

Any thoughts about what's happened? And should I worry about whatever it is spreading to other plants?

[lopburi3]

There are no termites around

Are you sure - they have been flying in recent weeks and our tree years ago was a victim of termites.

[Oxx]

There are no termites around

Are you sure - they have been flying in recent weeks and our tree years ago was a victim of termites.

I'm pretty sure not. I use Sentricon (a termite baiting system). The baits were checked by the company less than a fortnight ago. No evidence of termite activity.

[samuijimmy]

I have never seen or heard of Termites, killing a bush like that...

I would check to see if there is some kind of grub that has been eating the roots or the base... usually white and about 1/2 to 1 inch long.... fat chubby things!

Other possibility it was planted too deep and the base stem has rotted.... usually takes longer, to die off if that is the case, it will show it is rotted below the soil line.

Ants are usually feasting on honeydew, or other small insects, not eating the leaves...

[Suradit69]

I have never seen or heard of Termites, killing a bush like that...

I would check to see if there is some kind of grub that has been eating the roots or the base... usually white and about 1/2 to 1 inch long.... fat chubby things!

Other possibility it was planted too deep and the base stem has rotted.... usually takes longer, to die off if that is the case, it will show it is rotted below the soil line.

Ants are usually feasting on honeydew, or other small insects, not eating the leaves...

"I have never seen or heard of Termites, killing a bush like that.."

I have.

Whether or not it's termites, you need to dig down and look at what's going on with the roots.

For it to suddenly collapse like that, either the roots are under attack or someone poured something nasty over the whole plant.

Termite damage to citrus trees is caused by a specific set of circumstances that do not commonly arise. Termite damage to citrus trees can cause severe decline and death, though unlike other pests, termites do not seek out citrus trees as host plants. If you are planting citrus in a new grove, do your research first to make sure you have chosen a pest-free site.

... termites can continue to feed over a long period of time. Termites feed on tree debris like fallen branches, roots and stumps, and usually attack dead material instead of live trees. Their feeding on dead organic matter helps break it down for natural re-entrance back into soil, according to the University of Florida IFAS Extension. When termites attack live citrus trees, they do so out of need. When water heights increase, most often during the summer season, termites turn to citrus plant parts beneath soil, leading to decline and death.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Suradit69

[meatboy]

There are no termites around

Are you sure - they have been flying in recent weeks and our tree years ago was a victim of termites.

I'm pretty sure not. I use Sentricon (a termite baiting system). The baits were checked by the company less than a fortnight ago. No evidence of termite activity.

i am not sure but we lost a good fruit producing jack fruit tree,CAUSE GROUND COFFEE.

[Bantex]

I would check to see if there is some kind of grub that has been eating the roots or the base... usually white and about 1/2 to 1 inch long.... fat chubby things!

Have you seen any of these grubs, larva of the crane fly (daddy long legs) birds love to eat these, have you noticed an increase of birds I the garden?

Either dig up a section of the ground to check for them or heavily water a few square metres of ground to bring them to the surface. They come to the surface before hatching, sometimes in their thousands. Normally prominent close to a water source i.e. pond, lake, river. Watch out for thinning grass areas as they will eat the grass roots.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Bantex

[samuijimmy]

I have never seen or heard of Termites, killing a bush like that...

I would check to see if there is some kind of grub that has been eating the roots or the base... usually white and about 1/2 to 1 inch long.... fat chubby things!

Other possibility it was planted too deep and the base stem has rotted.... usually takes longer, to die off if that is the case, it will show it is rotted below the soil line.

Ants are usually feasting on honeydew, or other small insects, not eating the leaves...

"I have never seen or heard of Termites, killing a bush like that.."

I have.

Whether or not it's termites, you need to dig down and look at what's going on with the roots.

For it to suddenly collapse like that, either the roots are under attack or someone poured something nasty over the whole plant.

Termite damage to citrus trees is caused by a specific set of circumstances that do not commonly arise. Termite damage to citrus trees can cause severe decline and death, though unlike other pests, termites do not seek out citrus trees as host plants. If you are planting citrus in a new grove, do your research first to make sure you have chosen a pest-free site.

... termites can continue to feed over a long period of time. Termites feed on tree debris like fallen branches, roots and stumps, and usually attack dead material instead of live trees. Their feeding on dead organic matter helps break it down for natural re-entrance back into soil, according to the University of Florida IFAS Extension. When termites attack live citrus trees, they do so out of need. When water heights increase, most often during the summer season, termites turn to citrus plant parts beneath soil, leading to decline and death.

I still don't think it's termites... only way for the OP to find out is dig up and look... for what may have caused it.

as per the quote ... "Termites feed on tree debris like fallen branches, roots and stumps, and usually attack dead material instead of live trees"

I agree that could be a cause... We cannot tell what's underneath! But usually people would remove dead wood in the surrounding ground when planting...

As I also mentioned if it was planted too deep, that could also be the cause...

Having grass growing up to the stem is not a good idea either... it's going to get striped by the weed cutter... too often seen.

[manfredtillmann]

i lost two lemon / lime trees in exactly the same way 10 days apart. i actually thought i had overdone it with peeing on the first one so the second one got none - but died the same death. virtually overnight from green to brown.

[shamimoto]

I lost more than a year old 2m tall jack fruit tree all of a sudden. Close examination revealed bark all around the stem eaten by something (possibly rodents). At my friend's suggestion I installed wire net at the bottom of all other trees. No more sudden deaths now ☺.

Edited May 22, 2016 by shamimoto

[Oxx]

Finally worked it out, and the answer was "none of the above". The plant was grafted and the graft site tightly wrapped in plastic. Rot set in under the plastic.

[overherebc]

Finally worked it out, and the answer was "none of the above". The plant was grafted and the graft site tightly wrapped in plastic. Rot set in under the plastic.

Coffee grounds may also help to kill it off. Takes a long time even in compost heap for them to become non toxic to plants.