Another THREAT, but to all Hunting...SODS

[CTBowMan]

Let us pray that this organism doesn't survive!

Organism Poses Threat To Trees Sudden Oak Death Syndrome Is An Unwanted Arrival From The West Coast

November 30, 2004

By STEVE GRANT, Courant Staff Writer

A deadly organism ravaging oak forests in the West appears to have been inadvertently introduced at sites throughout Connecticut, posing a potentially huge threat to many of the state's most common trees.

Louis A. Magnarelli, director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, confirmed Monday that 14 of 40 samples of rhododendron plants shipped to Connecticut this year from an Oregon wholesale nursery tested positive for Sudden Oak Death Syndrome.

In all, some 10,000 rhododendron plants were distributed to 53 retail nurseries and other outlets in Connecticut. Most have already been sold and presumably planted, officials said.

"We have been exposed to it, and it is a very significant exposure," said Donald H. Smith, the state forester and director of the state Department of Environmental Protection's forestry division.

Sudden Oak Death Syndrome, caused by what is believed to be an alien invasive organism, was first discovered in California in 1995. It infects many tree species, but has been especially harmful to oaks, many of which die within one to three years after infection.

Tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggest that common eastern oak species, including northern red oak and white oak, both abundant in Connecticut, are susceptible.

Scientists and foresters cautioned that it remains to be seen if environmental conditions in the East will actually be hospitable for the pathogen. New England winters, for example, might be too cold for the organism.

"The best we can hope for is that the pathogen cannot survive here and dies out," Smith said.

Magnarelli noted that in California it has done the most damage in areas close to the sea with frequent fog and higher humidity, conditions that are more common along the Connecticut coast than inland.

But scientists say it is also possible the pathogen could flourish throughout the state and do major damage to oaks and many other species. A worst-case scenario is an elimination of oaks akin to the loss of the chestnut tree a century ago when an alien blight took hold in the East.

"Obviously, we are very, very concerned about Sudden Oak Death in Connecticut," said Adam R. Moore, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, a private conservation group. "This is not good news."

Magnarelli said it appeared likely that some number of the shrubs already planted throughout the state were infected, based upon the test samples, which were drawn from plants that had not yet been sold. While 14 of 40 shrubs tested positive in state results, the USDA, using a different test, received positive readings on 5 of the 14.

Magnarelli said the infected plants included two rhododendron varieties known as "Boursault" and "Album." People who bought rhododendrons this year should watch for round lesions, or spots, and indications that the plant is in decline - though those conditions can be caused by other plant problems, too.

According to the USDA, infected plants have been positively identified in 22 states, including Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

A major concern is the spread of the pathogen into the general environment. So far, only one instance has been recorded in the eastern U.S. of the pathogen affecting an established tree, an oak on Long Island, last summer.

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., called the discovery "a terrible revelation, but Connecticut citizens should hear it as a call to arms. ...We should all heed the directions of the officials charged with putting this genie back in the bottle and do all we can to prevent its spread."

Because virtually all of the instances of infected plants in the East have been traced to nurseries in California or Oregon, where the pathogen is established, eastern officials are looking for improved ways to prevent further introductions. Some states have imposed quarantines.

Moore, of the forest association, said he'd like to see a system in which the nursery where a plant was propagated would affix a bar code label to each plant, indicating where it was raised. That would make it possible to quickly identify the source of a contaminated plant and make it easier to locate all plants on the market from that nursery.

The federal government and the states already are monitoring forests, searching for any sign of Sudden Oak Death infestation in the wild. The U.S. Forest Service is sampling forests throughout the United States.

In Connecticut, the experiment station for many years has conducted an annual survey looking for any signs of new insects or diseases that might affect trees and plants. In recent years, surveyors added Sudden Oak Death to the tree problems they watch for.

Smith, meanwhile, said foresters, arborists, tree wardens and loggers could help in watching the condition of oak foliage in and around residential areas with rhododendron plantings.

If a pathogen with potentially significant implications is identified, the USDA typically moves to destroy affected trees. Magnarelli said if Sudden Oak Death Syndrome were found in the general environment in Connecticut, the state would have to move quickly to get rid of it.

"I hope we never find it in the field," he said. "That is going to be a really tough problem if we find it if it is in a forest or a group of oak trees. That takes us to the next phase - eradication."

That can be controversial, he acknowledged, because it might involve private property, perhaps even ornamental trees.

Property owners who think they may have an infected rhododendron plant can contact the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station at 203-974-8601 for information.

[Ravin R10 man]

Re: Another THREAT, but to all Hunting...SODS

add this to the threat too....the TWO STRIPED CHESTNUT BEETLE. This has killed many red and scrub oaks in Northern Wi.