Plane wilt, also known as canker stain disease, is a serious disorder of plane trees, which are important amenity trees in the parks and avenues of many European cities. The disease is caused by the fungus Ceratocystis platani, which is present in the USA and Europe, but considered to be indigenous only to North America. […]
Xylella fastidiosa is a disease-causing bacterium that affects a wide range of important woody plants and broadleaved trees. It invades the xylem vessels that transport water throughout plants, and causes symptoms ranging from leaf scorch to tree dieback and death. In the natural environment it is transmitted by xylem-fluid feeding insects such as leafhoppers.
Until recently […]
UK distribution of Phytophthora ramorum evolutionary types provided by new testing method.
By developing a new molecular-based testing method based on PCR techniques, Forest Research scientists have been able to examine the distribution of the two main lineages of Phytophthora ramorum responsible for the major epidemic on larch (Larix spp.) in the UK. In a paper […]
News of a recent unwelcome discovery and how ‘citizen science’ can play an important role in surveying and identification.
An overview of the 2015 discoveries of Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Oriental chestnut gall wasp; OCGW) in European sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) trees in Farningham Woods, Kent and St Albans, Hertfordshire, was published in Quarterly Journal of Forestry. It […]
Treating ash seeds with hot water may kill Chalara infection
Immersing ash seeds in 44 °C water for 5 hours may eradicate Chalara infection in ash seeds without significantly reducing the viability of the seeds. Forest Research scientists have published the results of this trial in Quarterly Journal of Forestry. Batches of ash fruits were subjected to […]
Phytophthora austrocedri (previously spelled austrocedrae) is an aggressive, fungus-like pathogen that poses a serious threat to juniper trees in Britain. Juniper is an important native species and a significant proportion of the small area of juniper woodland in Britain is protected. Phytophthora austrocedri was first reported in the UK in 2011, and infected trees have […]
Horse chestnut is an important amenity tree species which has been significantly affected over the past decade by a widespread outbreak of bleeding canker disease. Symptoms include rust-coloured or blackened bleeding cankers on the stem and branches, which can lead to tree mortality. The causal agent of this disease is the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae […]
Elm yellows is a disease of elm trees caused by a type of bacterium known as a phytoplasma. Symptoms of the disease can range from yellowing of leaves to dieback of foliage and branches. Elm yellows has been found affecting elm trees in North America and a few European countries, but in 2014 it was […]
Phytophthora lateralis is an aggressive, fungus-like pathogen of Lawson cypress trees. It mainly attacks the roots of trees and can spread up through the trunk resulting in the rapid decline and death of the tree. Thought to originate in Asia, the disease is the main cause of mortality in Lawson cypress in its native range […]
The oak processionary moth is a serious forestry pest that is capable of causing complete defoliation of oak trees. Its caterpillars are also a hazard to health. Breeding populations of the moth were discovered for the first time in the UK in London in 2006 and these initial infestations have since spread and the moth […]
Ash dieback is a disease of ash trees caused by a fungus called Chalara fraxinea. The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and it may lead to tree death. This Pest Alert provides information on distribution, symptoms, how the disease spreads and what you can do to help, as well as […]
The Asian longhorn beetle, a native to China and southeast Asia, is an invasive pest of trees in Britain. The larvae of the beetle feed on the wood of a wide range of broadleaved trees, which causes damage and will ultimately kill affected trees. The beetle has caused extensive damage to trees where it has […]
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