not.Mike LaMana, MSHeartwood Consulting Services, LLCToms River, NJwww.HeartwoodConsulting.net____________________________________________TREE-KILLING CALIFORNIA FUNGUS NOW A CONCERN IN NJDate: 040603From:
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The state is trying to keep Sudden Oak Death from becoming ahousehold name in New Jersey like Chestnut Blight or Dutch ElmDisease. One lilac bush at a Cape May County nursery recently tested positivefor the fungal disease during a 13-county surveillance sweep conductedby the U.S. and state departments of agriculture. The bush was trackedto a California wholesaler. The other lilac bushes surrounding thisplant at the Cape May County nursery did not have the disease but weredestroyed as a precaution. The state did not identify the nursery to avoid stigmatizing thebusiness, state agriculture spokeswoman Lynne Richmond said. It was the first time Phytophthora ramorum, commonly called SuddenOak Death, was found in the Garden State. "There are 13 counties in California with the disease. In the mostseverely impacted, Monterey, Sonoma, you'd be hard-pressed to findsomeone who does not know what it is," Katie Palmieri said. Palmieri is a spokeswoman for the California Oak Mortality TaskForce. Sudden Oak Death has cost California millions of dollars in lostbusiness and surveillance to stop its spread. More than 1,500nurseries were affected with quarantines, testing or other regulation.Some lost more than $1 million in business, Palmieri said. In at least one case, an outbreak of the fungus forced a woodedcampground to close temporarily, she said. "The trees were so unstable. It proved to be a huge propertyliability," she said. The dead trees also pose a fire hazard. California has removed manydead or dying trees in wooded areas near homes, Alameda Countybiologist Ken Peek said. "More people are building near woods, so the fire hazard has been animmediate concern," he said. Scientists identified the fungus in the mid-1990s. Scientists are notsure how the fungus could affect eastern oak trees, Peek said. "The other concern is back East you have a lot of oak forest withmany more varieties of oak. There is a big concern about whether thisthing could cause quite a problem," he said. "We're not sure what therisk is between a nursery setting and the woods, but people want toerr on the safe side." New Jersey was not the first eastern state to see the diseaserecently. So far this year, Pennsylvania and Maryland have identifiedthe fungus, said Carl Schulze Jr., director of the New Jersey Divisionof Plant Industry. "The disease leapfrogged across the country through the shipment ofinfected nursery stock," he said. "We're taking a cautious step hereto do surveys of our nurseries and woodlands to see if the disease ishere, has been a minor disease here or whether this is a new problemforests may face." Several shrubs and flowers serve as host to the fungus, which causesleaf spots or twig die off. But oak trees are especially susceptible.The disease has killed thousands of California's black oaks, tanoaksand coast live oaks. "It will girdle the tree, physically cut off the transportation offood and water. You'll see this browning of the leaves and a fairlyrapid decline," Peek said. Despite the disease's name, the fungus usually takes more than a yearto kill a healthy tree. But the final browning and die off of leavescan take just a few weeks, which accounts for its name. California and New Jersey have done a good job informing Cape MayCounty's nurseries about the disease, said Stan Sperlak, owner of CapeShore Gardens in Middle Township. "We're in good hands when those companies are doing research andeducation," he said. "We get faxes and letters daily about whetherplants that have been quarantined are cleared. We here in southern NewJersey are fairly safe." The state said local homeowners should feel confident about buyingplants from any of the Cape May County nurseries. Just one plant of2,100 samples taken in 13 counties tested positive. "There should be no concern about people buying local stock fromtheir nurseries," Schulze said. * * *