Oak-killing pathogen appears in Indiana

[Too_Many_Tools]

Please note this comment as you read the article...

"Officials have not decided whether to track plants bought at the store, which might be difficult in the case of cash purchases, Waltz said, or to put out a public alert."

I guess that way the public won't know who to blame when all their trees start dying.

TMT

Oak-killing pathogen appears in Indiana Tue Aug 1

A tree disease that's killed hundreds of thousands of oak trees in California is now in Indiana after arriving in a shipment of shrubs from Oregon, state officials said.

The funguslike organism that causes Sudden Oak Death by encircling oak trees and strangling them was found two weeks ago in a Viburnum shrub at a Sears Hardware in Portage, state entomologist Robert Waltz said.

"It's worrisome. It's a very bad pathogen, no doubt about it," he said.

The disease, Phytophthora ramorum, doesn't spread from oak to oak but to oaks from host plants such as rhododendrons and maple trees.

The infected shrub in Portage was buried in a landfill, but Waltz said there is no way to know whether other plants sold to the public might have been infected.

"All we know is that at least one plant was infected, but whether there were two plants or 10 plants, we don't know," he said.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources tested the plants after being alerted by federal officials.

Officials have not decided whether to track plants bought at the store, which might be difficult in the case of cash purchases, Waltz said, or to put out a public alert.

The pathogen, which appeared suddenly in California and Western Europe in the mid-1990s, has been found in 14 California counties, southern Oregon and Washington, said Brian L. Anacker, a researcher at Sonoma State University in California.

Indiana is considered at moderate risk, but Waltz said most of its forests are in the southern part of the state, where the pathogen might be able to gain a foothold. If it did, the damage could be significant.

About half of all Indiana trees more than 20 inches in diameter are oak, state foresters have said, and the state has about 1.8 million acres of oak and hickory-type forests. Lumber is the fifth-largest industry in the state.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star,

[Swingman]

Oh, oh ... based on this you can bet the price at the lumberyard is going up ... this afternoon.

[Ralph E Lindberg]

.....

It effects more then the Oak though, it also effects Rhody's (really and issue in the PNW)

[Andrew Williams]

't know it from the chart hehe

[Leon]

I keep saying, there is something wrong with California. People and things are more susceptible to disease in California than any where else in the US. ;~)

And ripped from the headlines on MSNBC.com

Early-Onset of Type 2 Diabetes Linked to Early Death

Do they really think Diabetes is caused by death?

Seems more likely that Early Death would be linked to Early-onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

[fredfighter]

Like, is there some reason they can't do both?

[New Wave Dave]

No doubt the lumber industry has been taking notes from the petro-chemical industry.

[Charlie H.]

We have it in Texas too. I think they are calling it Oak wilt here, but pretty sure it is the same thing you are describing. Not sure how it was originated, probably in similar fashion to Dutch Elm Disease. Charlie

[wood_newbie]

Charlie,

Not that it necessarily makes a damn bit of difference, but Oak Wilt is a different fungus, ceratocystis fagacearum. Very easily mistaken for Sudden Oak Death, phytophthora ramorum. Regardless, Oak Wilt is decimating the eastern forests, SOD is decimating the western. Nasty bastards, both. And SOD can kill certain maples, too, as well as a host of other shrubs (huckleberry being one of them, and as someone mentioned above, rhododendrons). Doug firs can become infected too, but as a rule aren't dying from it.

Right now there is no known cure for SOD, but there is a fungicide being recommended as a preventive measure. Phytophthora fungi, like most any others, are very good at forming resistant colonies, so there's a good chance that one fungicide won't work by itself for long. (Another form of phytophthora was responsible for the Irish Potato Famines.)

Funny you mentioned Dutch Elm disease...the Netherlands currently has SOD too.

[Too_Many_Tools]

Oak wilt? Sudden Oak Death? How does one tell the difference?

In the past, I have seen oaks die from the botttom up and others who died from the top down....in the same backyard.

Also, how easily is it spread by using the dead tree for firewood?

Thanks

TMT

wood [e-mail] wrote:

[Charlie H.]

Thanks for the update I didn't know about SOD, unfortunately it is even worse than I though it was, and I thought that it was pretty bad. Charlie

[wood_newbie]

Using the dead tree for firewood is probably a good thing...that's how they're attempting to eradicate infected trees in the wild--by burning.

As far as telling the difference between Oak Wilt and SOD, you can tell by the "sores" on the tree, and at this time by your geography. In other words, if you don't live in California/Oregon (or parts of Europe), the chances of you having SOD are basically nill. SOD is a very new development, and it has not been found, at least to any real extent, in the wild outside of that range. As for identifying by the sores, check out this website:

SOD, there are canker sores which appear to "bleed."

In a "Thank God for small mercies" way, it appears that white oak species are not susceptible to SOD...it is only the red oaks that are succumbing.

One correction from my earlier post--maple trees are not actually dying from SOD...although they can become infected and serve as hosts. Like the Doug firs, it causes them some damage, but they ultimately survive.

[Too_Many_Tools]

The reason why I ask about using the wood for firewood is that the firewood is taken to new locations where the disease can then be spread to other trees located farther from the location of the dead tree than it might have spread without assistance.

TMT

wood [e-mail] wrote:

[Scott Lurndal]

Live oaks in Ca. Lost mine in 1997.

scott