Pests
Symptoms The fig slowly goes downhill for no obvious reason: stunted, with thin yellow leaves, dieback, and fewer figs each year. If you dig up a root, you find small knots or swellings on it. Those knots are the damage from the pest.Above ground, a slow, unexplained decline: stunted growth, sparse yellowing leaves, dieback, and poor fruiting that worsens over years. Below ground, the roots carry small knots or galls, and the fine feeder roots are damaged, so the plant cannot take up water and nutrients. Cause Microscopic soil worms called root-knot nematodes that live in the roots and make the knots. They build up in warm, sandy soil and are the number-one killer of figs in warm areas. Because figs grow on their own roots, there is no special root you can buy to resist them and no cure once a plant is badly infested.Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne species), microscopic soil roundworms that feed inside the roots and form the galls. They build up in warm, sandy soils and are the leading cause of fig decline and death in the Southeast and other warm sandy regions. Own-rooted figs have no resistant rootstock, so there is no cure once a plant is heavily infested. Organic treatment Once a plant is badly infested there is no fix. The best you can do is keep the fig strong with steady water and a thick mulch so it can shrug off mild damage, and, in bad sandy soil, grow it in a pot of clean potting mix instead of in the ground.There is no rescue treatment for an infested plant. Manage it by keeping the fig vigorous and well watered so it outgrows light damage, mulching heavily to build soil organic matter and beneficial soil life, and, in the worst sandy sites, growing in a container of clean mix instead. A thick organic mulch is the practical home tool. Prevention The main thing is to avoid the problem: do not plant in sandy soil known to have these pests, pick well-drained ground, mulch thickly, and keep the fig healthy. Where the soil is bad, growing the fig in a pot of clean mix avoids the pest completely.Prevention is everything: do not plant into known nematode-heavy sandy soil, choose the best-drained ground, mulch heavily, and keep the plant vigorous. Where nematode pressure is high, container culture in clean mix sidesteps the problem entirely.
Symptoms Ripe figs turn sour and mushy inside, with a fizzy or scummy ooze coming out of the little hole at the bottom (the eye) and a vinegary smell. You may see tiny beetles around the soft fruit. The affected figs are ruined.Ripening figs ferment and sour from the inside, oozing a scummy or bubbly liquid from the eye and smelling vinegary or yeasty. Small beetles may be seen at the eye of soft fruit. Affected figs are inedible and drop or rot on the plant. Cause Little beetles called dried fruit beetles are attracted to ripe figs and carry the yeasts that cause souring into the fruit through the open hole at the bottom. It is worst in humid weather and on figs with a big open eye that lets the beetles in.Dried fruit beetles (Carpophilus species) and other sap beetles are drawn to ripe figs and carry souring yeasts and bacteria into the fruit through the open eye. The problem is worst in humid weather and on varieties with a large, open eye, which lets the beetles and moisture in. Organic treatment Pick figs as soon as they are ripe and clean up any soured or fallen fruit right away, so the beetles are not attracted and the souring cannot spread. Growing a variety with a small, tight eye like Celeste helps a lot. No spray fixes souring once it is inside the fig.Pick figs promptly as they ripen and remove any soured or dropped fruit right away so beetles are not drawn in and the yeasts do not build. Choosing varieties with a small or closed eye (such as Celeste) greatly reduces souring. There is no spray that reaches yeasts inside the fruit. Prevention Keep the figs picked and throw away any soured ones, and grow a tight-eye variety like Celeste if your summers are humid. Picking often and keeping the plant open are the best defenses.Keep the plant picked clean during ripening, dispose of soured fruit, and favor closed-eye varieties in humid areas. Good airflow and prompt harvest are the durable controls.
Symptoms Ripe figs get pecked open, half-eaten, or disappear, usually the best ones up high first. Squirrels can strip a small fig fast. It happens right as the figs start to ripen.Ripe and nearly ripe figs are pecked open, half-eaten, or gone entirely, often the best fruit at the top of the plant first. Squirrels strip fruit and can clear a small tree fast. Damage appears exactly as the crop begins to ripen. Cause Birds and squirrels love ripe figs, and because a fig's fruit is soft, sweet, and out in the open for weeks, they come back again and again. It is one of the most common fig problems.Birds and squirrels find ripe figs irresistible, and a fig's soft, sweet, unprotected fruit ripening over many weeks is an easy, repeated target. This is one of the most common complaints of home fig growers. Organic treatment The best fix is to drape bird netting over the plant as the figs start to color, and to pick ripe figs often so fewer are left hanging. Shiny tape or scare items help for a while. A potted fig can be moved somewhere more protected.Netting the plant (or key branches) as fruit begins to color is the most effective home control; pick ripe figs promptly and often so less hangs waiting. Reflective tape and scare devices help briefly. A container fig can be moved to a more protected spot. Prevention Get the netting ready before the figs ripen, not after the birds find them, and keep the plant small enough to cover and pick easily.Plan for netting before the crop ripens rather than after the losses start, and keep the plant a manageable size so it can be covered and picked easily.
Diseases
Symptoms In late summer, leaves get small yellow-orange spots that turn rusty brown, mostly underneath, and then yellow and fall early, sometimes stripping the plant before fall. That year's figs usually still ripen, but losing leaves early year after year wears the plant down.In mid to late summer, leaves develop small yellow-orange spots that turn rusty reddish-brown, most on the underside; heavily spotted leaves yellow and drop early, sometimes defoliating the plant well before fall. The current crop usually still ripens, but repeated early defoliation weakens the plant over years. Cause A fungus called Cerotelium fici. It spreads in warm, wet, humid weather and survives winter on fallen infected leaves, so it is worst in humid areas and wet summers, especially where old leaves pile up under the plant.The fungus Cerotelium fici. It spreads in warm, humid, wet weather and overwinters on fallen infected leaves, so it is most severe in the humid Southeast and in wet summers, building up where litter is left under the plant. Organic treatment Once a leaf is spotted you cannot cure it; the aim is to slow it down and protect next year. Rake up and throw away fallen leaves, and keep the plant open so it dries fast. Where rust is bad, an organic copper spray on the new leaves through the season is the usual treatment.Once leaves are spotted there is no cure for that leaf; the goal is to slow the spread and protect next year. Rake up and destroy fallen leaves to remove the overwintering source, and keep the canopy open and dry. Where rust is severe, a neutral copper or Bordeaux fungicide on the new foliage through the growing season is the standard organic option. Prevention The main prevention is cleanup: rake away fallen leaves every year, prune so air moves through the plant, and water the ground instead of the leaves. In humid areas where rust is common, an organic copper spray starting in spring keeps the leaves protected.Sanitation is the backbone: clear fallen leaves each year, prune for airflow, and water at the ground rather than overhead. In rust-prone humid regions, a preventive copper program from spring protects the foliage.
Symptoms Leaves get a blotchy, mottled yellow pattern (called a mosaic), and sometimes the fruit is spotted or drops early. It comes and goes with the season and variety. It does not kill the plant, but it can slow it down and cut the crop.Leaves show scattered yellow, blotchy, or ring-like mottling (a mosaic pattern), sometimes with distorted growth; fruit may be spotted or drop early. Symptoms vary with season and variety and often come and go. The virus does not kill the plant but can reduce vigor and crop. Cause Fig mosaic is a virus, spread mostly by a tiny mite (the fig mite) and passed along in cuttings from infected plants. Once a plant has it, it is in the plant for good, because there is no cure for a plant virus.Fig mosaic is a virus complex spread mainly by the tiny fig mite (Aceria ficus) and carried in cuttings taken from infected plants. Once a plant has it, it is systemic and permanent, since there is no cure for a virus in a plant. Organic treatment There is no cure for a plant virus. Just keep the fig healthy and well cared for, since many infected plants still fruit alright. Do not take cuttings from a mottled plant to start new ones, and pull out a plant that is badly stunted and barely fruiting.There is no treatment for a virus in a plant. Manage it by keeping the plant otherwise healthy and vigorous; many infected figs still crop acceptably. Do not propagate cuttings from a mottled plant, and remove a severely stunted, poor-cropping plant. Prevention The best prevention is starting with a healthy plant and controlling the tiny fig mites that spread it. Buy or take cuttings from plants with clean, un-mottled leaves. There is no way to cure a plant once it is infected.Prevention is about clean stock and mite control: start with cuttings or plants from healthy, unmottled sources, and keep fig mites in check since they spread the virus. There is no way to cure an infected plant.
Symptoms Figs rot from the inside near the little hole at the bottom, going brown and mushy inside even when the outside still looks okay, then souring and dropping. It goes hand in hand with the souring that beetles cause, and is worst in humid weather on figs with a big open eye.Ripening fruit rots from the inside near the eye, turning brown and mushy internally while the outside may still look sound; affected figs sour, ooze, and drop. It overlaps with beetle-spread souring and is worst in humid weather on open-eye varieties. Cause A rot inside the fruit caused by fungi that get in through the open hole at the bottom, often carried by the same little beetles that cause souring. Humid weather and big-eye varieties make it worse.An internal fruit rot caused by fungi (including Fusarium) carried into the fruit through the open eye, often by the same sap beetles that spread souring. Humid conditions and large-eye varieties make it worse. Organic treatment You cannot cure it inside the fruit. Handle it like souring: pick figs promptly, throw away rotten and dropped ones, and grow a tight-eye variety like Celeste if your area is humid.There is no in-fruit cure. Control it the same way as souring: pick promptly, remove affected and dropped fruit, and favor small or closed-eye varieties (such as Celeste) in humid areas. Prevention Grow a tight-eye variety in humid areas, keep the figs picked and the ground clean, and control the little beetles that carry it.Choose closed-eye varieties in humid regions, keep fruit picked and the ground clean, and manage the sap beetles that carry the fungi.
