What is that on my Tangerine Tree

[ferice]

I thought my tangerine was looking pretty good and daw new leaves came out. However, I noticed the new leaves started to deformed and have these white stuffs on them. Below are some pictures.

 

[zigs]

Looks like leaf miner damage.

 

[Chuck]

I thought my tangerine was looking pretty good and daw new leaves came out. However, I noticed the new leaves started to deformed and have these white stuffs on them. Below are some pictures.

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Zigs is 100% correct. That is damage caused by citrus leaf miner. It mostly affects young trees and usually damage is minimal, unsightly yes but unlikely to drastically damage the tree. It is caused by a little white moth that lays its eggs on the leaves. The miners first started to appear in the US about 2000 and they came from Mexico. Commercial citrus growers us a systemic chemical to control them but organic gardeners have found that Neem Oil sprayed on both sides of the leaves every 9-11 days will take care of them. On a scale of 1 - 10 with 10 the worst these leaf miners rate about a 5 on the Worry About Scale.

 

[IcyBC]

That doesn't look very pleasant, and you have your answer now from @Chuck and how to treat it! Hope it will turn around and give you plenty of tangerines!

 

[ferice]

I added 1 FL oz of Neem oil to 1 gallon of water and sprayed the plant. It appears the solution burned the new leaves. Is that normal?

 

[Chuck]

I added 1 FL oz of Neem oil to 1 gallon of water and sprayed the plant. It appears the solution burned the new leaves. Is that normal?

I should have mentioned that you only spray Neem early in the morning and late in the afternoon, never in the heat of the day. The oil magnifies the sunlight and will scorch young leaves. Don't worry though, the tree will not be severely damaged and the leaves will grow back

 

[ferice]

I sprayed in the evening, but it was still hot.

 

[Chuck]

I sprayed in the evening, but it was still hot.

It should not have burned them but don't worry about it. Post pics in a couple of days

 

[ferice]

Thank you. I will take some pics in a few days.

 

[ferice]

Here are few pictures of my tangerine trees.

 

[Chuck]

IMO opinion the yellowing leaves are not an immediate problem. All of the damage that I see were caused by insects of which you have mostly taken care of. I would, in 3 -5 days spray again on both sides of the leaves with Neem in order to take care of any eggs that might have been missed or freshly hatched. The discolored and damaged leaves will shed and new leaves will appear later. All in all your tree looks good. The leaf miner damage is minimal. I would keep the grass away from the tree out to the drip line and keep the suckers from coming up and growing