Leaf exudates

General Discussions
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I am finding hints that leaf exudates are also a thing. A number of things are happening with my seedling trees.

I had two almond seedlings that were putting out moisture all along the edge of their leaves. It was apparently just water and I assume the plants were getting too much water from the soil. One of the two has since died and the other is just hanging on. I am working on that piece. Once I let the water in the soil dry out a little the weeping stopped.

Two of my three cherry trees are now doing the same thing, but the moisture is not water. It’s thick and sticky and very sweet. This started after I put the soil from the old cherry tree around them.

My assumption is that the exudates from the other tree are triggering the leaves to attract bacteria/fungi from the air as well. The smallest tree does not appear to be affected, but it is very much still in seedling stage.

I am watching for other changes after the soil application, but this is the first change I have seen.

If I can restrain my curiosity, I’m going to wait a month and then do a foliar feeding with bark and leaves from the old tree.

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2

Fascinating. We already know that the entire plant is covered in microorganisms, just as we are, so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the leaves were putting out exudates to attract them.

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That’s so exciting! I’ve never seen leaf exudates on trees. I’ve seen pictures of the Mexican corn varieties that exude a syrup to attract nitrogen-fixing bacteria, but I think those are from air roots rather than leaves. I wonder what kind of microbes your cherry trees are looking for!

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You can see a couple at the base of the leaves, and one very clearly on the side of the leaf stem.

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