In TCI Magazine: Lethal Bronzing in Palms, Test Before You Treat
Tree Care Industry Magazine published Jeff Kaulbars' article on lethal bronzing. The short version, for the people who answer for the palms.
Jeff Kaulbars
In this note 3 sections
On November 4, 2026, Tree Care Industry Magazine, the national magazine of the Tree Care Industry Association, published an article by Jeff Kaulbars on lethal bronzing. It was written for other arborists and tree care companies. This is the short version for managers and boards.
The palm behind the title
Two experienced palm professionals looked at the same wild date palm, separately, and both called it lethal bronzing. The lower fronds had bronzed, just like the textbook photos. We sent a trunk core to the lab anyway. It came back Not Detected, and the palm is alive and in normal condition today.
What the article covers
- Lethal bronzing is fatal and has no cure. One small planthopper spreads it, and its young live in the grass, not the palms.
- A palm can carry it for months before it shows. Potassium deficiency, Fusarium wilt and lethal yellowing can all look like it. Only a lab test tells them apart.
- We report a clean result as Not Detected. The lab can only say what it did not find in the sample.
- Injecting a palm on a schedule when the disease is not confirmed treats a problem that may not be there. Every injection leaves a hole a palm never closes, and it can hide the symptoms that tell us to test.
- When a palm is confirmed, it comes out. The insect is controlled, starting in the turf, and the palms around it are tested, with or without symptoms.
- A zone closes only after about 60 days of sticky traps with no planthoppers. Then we keep watching for a year.
What it means for your property
Before anyone treats or removes a palm for lethal bronzing, the lab confirms it. On a property with a history of the disease, new palms are held until a trunk core comes back Not Detected, and new sod is treated when it goes in. Protection lowers the risk. It does not remove it, so the palms stay on a monitoring schedule.
Read the full article in Tree Care Industry Magazine. Our lethal bronzing guide has the symptoms, the hosts and what to do next. To put every palm on one written plan, ask us for the free master plan.
