Young peach trees and one two year old apricot tree have looked very healthy until they just died.

Question

Young peach trees, 2-5 years old, have died for no obvious reason. They have produced good fruit and then just died, at different times of the season. Recently I noticed slimy gunk at the base of two trees that died. It is very gooey but crusty on the outside, dark rust colored. What could this be?

Answer 1

This sounds an awful lot like Peach Short Life Disease. It will destroy a tree down to the root level. This is from an extension service that offers more information on the subject: https://sites.aces.edu/group/commhort/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=4206d93f-559b-47b1-a67e-efe319997b4a&ID=103&Web=a01cb228-31e0-4468-8e80-f44a93c1d947