Spruce tree yellowing needles

Question: This spruce tree is estimated to be 60+ years old.  It has recently (within the past week or so) started developing yellow-brown needles.  The needles are dry and easily fall off.  The brown needles are scattered throughout the tree, from bottom to as far as I can see into the top.  The tree is probably 45 feet tall.

The tree has some drooping branches at the bottom.  The arborist I work with saw the tree earlier in the season and said that the drooping branches are normal.  He did not see the browning of the needles.

Please help me identify what is going on and what treatments might be possible.

Thank you.

responder: Replied September 24, 2024, 7:44 PM EDT
response: Hello Jayne, Thank you for reaching out to the UVM Extension Master Gardener Helpline with your question! A couple of tree experts looked at your images and both thought the symptoms looked like needle cast. It is most likely Rhizosphaera. We have had a lot of rainy springs and that weather favors this fungal disease. We many spruce trees all over the state that are showing injury from the lower branches upwards. There is not much you can do about it with such a large older tree. It would be very expensive to spray it and not worth it. You can prune the lower branches off if they have died or shed all their needles. Hopefully the weather next spring is drier so the disease does not spread upward as fast.  I’ve included a few articles below with more information on Rhizosphaera needle cast:  https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/rhizosphaera-needle-cast#:~:text=Rhizosphaera%20needle%20cast%20is%20a,suffer%20from%20Rhizosphaera%20needle%20cast.https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2006/may/071502.htm https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/article/2016/05-06/rhizosphaera.htm   Thank you, Vikki

responder: Replied September 24, 2024, 7:45 PM EDT
response: Hello Jayne, Thank you for reaching out to the UVM Extension Master Gardener Helpline with your question! A couple of tree experts looked at your images and both thought the symptoms looked like needle cast. It is most likely Rhizosphaera. We have had a lot of rainy springs and that weather favors this fungal disease. We many spruce trees all over the state that are showing injury from the lower branches upwards. There is not much you can do about it with such a large older tree. It would be very expensive to spray it and not worth it. You can prune the lower branches off if they have died or shed all their needles. Hopefully the weather next spring is drier so the disease does not spread upward as fast.  I’ve included a few articles below with more information on Rhizosphaera needle cast:  https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/rhizosphaera-needle-cast#:~:text=Rhizosphaera%20needle%20cast%20is%20a,suffer%20from%20Rhizosphaera%20needle%20cast.https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2006/may/071502.htm https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/article/2016/05-06/rhizosphaera.htm   Thank you, Vikki

responder: The Question Asker Replied September 24, 2024, 7:52 PM EDT
response: You mentioned rainy spring but this has shown up only very recently.  Also, the browning is scattered throughout the tree not just at the bottom. Does that change anything in terms of the diagnosis? Thank you!

responder: Replied September 25, 2024, 8:58 PM EDT
response: Hello,  This most likely still diagnosis since the tree has probably had it to some extent for years. It would have developed over time and the environmental conditions in the Spring/Summer were favorable to the disease and we’ve had two wet very wet summers, likely making to worse.  While the needles on the lower and inner branches are usually impacted first it does spread to the rest of the tree.