Shriveling fruit tree (irrigating, landscaping, trees, Arizona)

[Dewey59]

First, you should know I live in the Phoenix, AZ area, so it is very hot and dry this time of year! I am taking care of a friend's house while she is out of town for the summer. She has a fruit tree in the back yard (I believe it is an orange tree) that has had an issue with shriveling leaves since the time she left back in late April. The leaves are not dry and crumbly, just shriveled. At first, I strongly suspected it was getting too much water - she had it set for very good flow for 30 minutes 4 times a week - so I cut back on that considerably to where I am now at a modest flow for 20 minutes 3 times a week. But it is not getting any better and may be getting slightly worse. I also noticed some of the leaves are getting discolored and chewed up. Am I dealing with a pest / disease problem rather than a watering issue? Some of the leaves look real good. See pic. Thank you in advance!

[gemstone1]

Irrigating Citrus Trees.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Have you checked it over for insects? I don't have citrus but I've seen that curled leaf on a plant with ah aphid infestation.

[cully]

I don't water on the top when hot sun is on the leaves. It'll burn.

This pic also kind of reminds me of pot bound trees...ones that badly need transplanting...leaves kind of wrinkled up. How is the ground it's planted in? Not stopping the roots from stretching out, is it?

[wit-nit]

Op you have a citrus thrip insect problem, common with citrus.
Here's some good info about them to peruse. Damage from citrus thrips less than it looks | | tucson.com

[Dewey59]

Thanks for all the suggestions and links. I will explore these options.

[lewdog_5]

Looks like thrips to me. Actually do less damage than it looks.

That watering schedule sounds horrible though. Citrus like long but infrequent waterings. Never more than twice per week, even in the hottest part of the summer. I run my 8 gallons per hour drippers for 8 hours when I water. This improves the coverage of the entire root zone and forces salt farther down. I will also occasionally run the hose slowly under the tree for 24 hours to totally saturate and deep water the roots.

Your friend needs to adjust her watering badly.

[Dewey59]

lewdog, I had heard the same thing about watering from a landscaping class I attended. Infrequent deep watering. Unfortunately, her system is like mine - a single zone that also waters every other bush and tree in the yard. So the only way to do it would be manual. Which I guess is probably worth doing...

[NewbieHere]

I water less frequently for citrus. I did ask the nursery and they said water long and deep every 10 days. This is a problem because we also have one circuit. So I water some by hands.

[taimaishu]

I have the same problem. But my issue is due to Aphids. Under the leaves, I saw thousands of them just sucking up all the sap from the leaves.

I sprayed them out with a garden hose but they will be back. Need to get a hose end sprayer and use soap or neem oil.