"gunner" wrote in message
...

"Bert Byfield" wrote in message
. 97.131...
This is a link to some pictures of "The Blob" (dark brown stuff wrapped
around the branches, about a hundred of them, three or four inches
long) which has attached itself all over my Italian Prune tree. Does
anyone know what this is and what I should do to it?

http://caravelabooks.com/plumcrud/


Looks like a Black Knot problem.
do some research and good luck, if it is that bad it will take a while for
the patient to recover
Asporigia moribosum, commonly called black knot. Prune out all affected
limbs, disinfecting tools with bleach after each cut. Burn the infected
material. Plums and cherries are especially susceptible. Hopefully you last
pruning cut is not at ground level as this fungal disease is quite invasive.
Good luck,
Steve