Question
04/21/10 Southern Indiana--My neighbor has a sugar maple that has an area towards the crown with very heavy seed on it but no leaves except for the branch tips. I have never seen anything like this; there are large bunches of seed at regular intervals on the 'affected' branches, no leaves except on the tips of the branches and those appear healthy. The remainder of the tree appears healthy with uniform seed productiion. I have not climbed up to look at the affected area but in observing what I can see of the tree, I see nothing that would indicate fungus, soil, or pest issues. The bark looks healthy, no leaking sap, no holes. Any ideas on what may have happened?

Answer
Lee Ann:
I do not suspect a disease nor insect.  This may be a possible environmental stress such as a sudden drop in temperature that may have delayed the leaves emerging. Since there are not other visible suspect areas on the tree, I suspect consistent warmer temperatures will correct the foliage issue.

Steve