Phyllosticta needleblight symptoms are typically browning and branch tip death throughout the canopy of the tree. Infection is typically a secondary disease, meaning other issues lead to the infection, and an indication of a larger stress issue with the affected trees. Some stressors include drought stress, flooding, winter injury etc. Resolving these issues will typically clear up the problem with phyllosticta killing the branch tips. If stress cannot be resolved another type of tree might be more suitable for your environment.
To confirm phyllosticta needle blight we need to examine a sample. Samples should include 3-5 affected branches. Samples can be dropped off at the clinic directly or mailed to us.
Mailing a sample:
Place the sample either directly into a box, or into a plastic bag then into a box. DO NOT add water to the sample. Try to send samples early in the week so that the sample does not sit over a weekend.