 |
Tree Diseases
Dutch Elm Disease
Overview | Our Arbotect & Alamo Experience | Research Slide Show
How Dutch Elm Disease Spreads
Through our work in the Twin Cities, we have discovered that Dutch Elm disease fungus can infect a tree in two ways. The most common method of transmission is on the bodies of elm bark beetles. The fungus also spreads from diseased to healthy trees through grafted roots.
An elm bark beetle's life revolves around elm trees. It breeds in dead and dying elms, and depends exclusively on elm tissue for food creating a devastating cycle for elms when the Dutch elm disease fungus Ophiostoma novi-ulmi is thrown into the mix. Thousands of eggs can be laid by the adult females in one piece of wood the size of a fireplace log.
If the tree died from Dutch elm disease, every beetle that hatches and emerges as an adult from that wood may be carrying the fungus. They will be looking for a healthy elm on which to feed and will inadvertantly inoculate the tree with Dutch elm disease via the spores carried on their bodies. At Rainbow Treecare, we have found that the majority of new infections, and the bulk of the losses to Dutch elm disease, are due to this method of transmission. That is why prompt detection, removal, and destruction of dying elms is so critically important.
The other method of disease transmission between elms is through grafted roots. When elms are growing near each other, their roots come in contact in the soil and graft together. In the absence of a vascular wilt like Dutch elm disease, this is an advantage for the trees. The Dutch elm disease fungus, however, can pass from diseased to healthy trees through these grafted roots and continue to spread indefinitely through a stand of elms.
Dutch Elm Disease Symptoms
The first evidence of Dutch elm disease is wilting or "flagging" in one or more of the branches, usually starting in the outer portion of the crown. Leaves on the infected branches turn dull green to yellow and curl, finally becoming dry, brittle, and brown. The symptoms progress down the limb and eventually throughout the entire tree. We have witnessed that trees infected through root grafts die very rapidly, while trees infected via the feeding of bark beetles can take several years to die.
Another symptom of the disease is the discoloration of the water conducting vessels. We can see this by peeling the bark of the infected wood, revealing the staining.
Managing Dutch Elm Disease
Dutch elm disease is difficult to control. However, with a properly implemented program, the devastating effects of the disease can be greatly reduced. An effective program includes three parts: prompt detection and removal of diseased elms, disruption of transmission through common roots, and protection of valuable elms through proper injection proceedures.
Sanitation
At Rainbow we have found that sanitation is an important key to effectively managing Dutch elm disease on a community wide basis. It involves identifying diseased elms, and prompt removal of these trees. This may prevent root graft transmission and definitely will reduce the number of disease carrying beetles. It is our understanding that a single dead elm can produce tens of thousands of contaminated beetles. Without such a program, a substantial majority of a community's elm population will die within a few years.
Isolation
We sever the grafted root systems between diseased and healthy elms. This can save many trees. We have found that this is most reliably accomplished mechanically. We have used both trenchers and vibratory plows. Remove the diseased elm only after common roots have been disrupted. Accordingly, prompt disease detection as well as installing root graft barrier trenches is very important to the overall success of an integrated control program.
Protection
We inject our Twin City Trees with Arbotect 20-S (thiabendazole), a systemic fungicide. This is the only method for protecting healthy elms that has been proven effective in university tests. The process is very effective, but not foolproof. Incorrectly applied, the treatment is ineffective. The goal of an injection is to evenly distribute the fungicide throughout the entire crown of the tree, so that when a contaminated beetle feeds on the tree, the fungus spores are unable to grow. We do know that an injection does not protect a tree against root graft infection, or "cure" a tree that is already seriously infected.
|
 |
![Rainbow Treecare [Home]](../images/interface/RTC_logo.gif){kind=logo}
