Question
I have three Mulberry trees in my yard.  Two are about 70 years old and produced fruit for many years. They both died with their bark peeling off the truck of the tree.  The third is a male mulberry that has part of the tree budding but the trunk is peeling.  What can I do to save the third tree?  Also, what killed the 1st two?  They are watered by deep flood irrigation.

Answer
Dear Darlene, There are really only a few things that could cause that kind of damage.  Borers can take down a tree but you would have noticed holes in the trunk and probably woodpeckers going after the grubs.  The only other thing that would cause the peeling bark that you describe would be sooty canker, a disease that affects mulberries.  It often affects mostly the branches, but it can affect the trunk, and it will usually do so once it becomes established.  The symptoms of this would include wilted leaves, moist areas and cracks in the bark.  One word of caution: if the bark peeling off goes all the way around a trunk or a limb, then that area will not be able to recover.  This is girdling and once the bark loss circles the tree it will die.  There are several things that you can do to help the tree recover now that you know what the problem is.  Prune the infected areas with clean sharp tools.  You may want to disinfect your tools with diluted bleach in between cuts.  Trim any peeling bark areas off, and treat them with fungicide.  Since these are fruit bearing trees, you can go with NEEM since that is an organic fungicide, or since this tree is a male and won't bear any actual fruit you can go with something stronger.  You can use tree paint to seal up the exposed areas after treating with fungicide and to prevent fungal spores from re-entering.  Be sure to trash all infected branches as they will only continue to spread the disease.  Aside from this cleanup and treatment, avoid any unnecessary pruning as it will potentially spread the disease.  This should be plenty to save the third tree as long as the bark loss isn't too extensive.  I hope this information helps, but write back if you have more questions.  Good luck, Melissa