Greetings from Istanbul, folks!! Visited my mom today and noticed this young loquat tree that was very healthy and green last year and even earlier this spring now appears to be in serious trouble. There are white sports and brown spots and wrinkly spots and dry spots all over it. It might very well be on its way to dying. Can anyone please help me diagnose the disease it appears to be suffering from? Is this a pest, mold, bacteria, virus, something to do with sun/water/soil, all of the above? If anyone could please suggest a fix, my 82 year old mother and I'd be forever grateful. Many thanks.

The whitish stuff on the leaves looked like mold to me. I sprayed the leaves with mild soap water. Keeping my fingers crossed that it'll help. :/

I was going to comment it looks like a case of powdery mildew. The "soap" might have been a mistake. It can dissolve cuticular wax which, serves as protection against disease pathogens like the fungus that causes powdery mildew, helps prevent excessive water loss through the cuticle, acts as a barrier to insect herbivory, and acts as a sunscreen to protect the plant's photosynthesizing machinery from harmful UV rays. If the mixture makes its way into the soil, contact with root cells can quickly dissolve the lipid membrane surrounding cells, killing the cells and inhibiting water/ nutrient uptake. Hair cells growing as appendages off larger roots do the lion's share of assimilating water and nutrients, and these very delicate cells would be the first casualty of any detergent in the root zone.
Al

Thanks for your response. That's quite a scary scenario. Hopefully the soap water won't kill the plant. What would've been a better solution to the mildew problem?

P.S. I will try to remember to take follow up pictures in a month or two to document the outcome.