Fungicides protect apricot trees against dieback

California produces more than 95 percent of the nations apricot crop and this versatile tree fruit is also a favorite for home orchards. Limb dieback is a major cause of premature tree decline and death in the northern part on the state. The causal fungus, Eutypa armeniacae (impf. Cytosporina), spreads by means of spores carried in the air during rainstorms, and, when the spores find their way into fresh pruning wounds, the disease begins. Unpruned apricots are not affected.