Help! I have a ficus tree that is generally doing well and healthy with new buds but a singular branch has been covered in a powdery pale layer (in the same colour as the bark), and leaf stalks are covered in a woody white substance that doesnt wipe off easily but I can scratch off with my nail.

Is it an infestation? What might have caused it? and should i chop the whole branch off?

Thank you!

ank you!