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Originally Posted by Min_Rizor
The fungus was on and around a submerged wound in the tree's bark (looked like a very acutely-angled branch was cut off, then somebody repotted it and hid the wound they left underneath the soil, which looked partially healed). Judging simply by this, I'd say that it was a malicious fungus.  |
Just because you see a fungus growing around or on a wound does not mean that it has infected the trunc or branch because most non-pathogenic fungi can do that as long as they have enough moiture and organic matter to feed on.
As I said, you don't usually see the mycelium of pathogenic fungi when they infect a plant but only after the tissue has completely rotted away. The usual symptom of infection is the discoloration of the tissue which is generally from brown to black, or in some cases, the discoloration of the xylem vessels as is the case for
Fusarium or
Verticilium wilts.
The only way to be sure you have fungal or nematode problem in your soil is to send a sample for laboratory examination. For this, you should collect at least a cup of soil, plus some small fibrous roots, from several spots around the affected tree parts and place in a plastic bag. The soil plus roots and some of the affected trunc tissue, stems or leaves should be taken to your agricultural county extension office.
I would not advise you to put any fungicide in your soil unless you are sure you have a pathogen affecting your tree because you are also going to kill all the other beneficial fungi, including mycorrhizae, which are necessary for the health of the tree.