Ash dieback.

[aga man]

Just reading in the local news that there are 48 confirmed cases of Ash dieback disease in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, with a new case just discovered in a wood near Hull.

 

The report describes it as an 'ecological disaster'. Not good news

 

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/pest-alert-ash-dieback-2012.pdf/$file/pest-alert-ash-dieback-2012.pdf

Edited April 4, 2016 by aga man

[Grandalf]

Had it around here for the last two years. Many trees affected and more all the time.

[ShootingEgg]

Looking like we will lose ash completely... It will be extinct in europe due to die back.

[rjimmer]

Looking like we will lose ash completely... It will be extinct in europe due to die back.

That's what THEY are saying. I cut down 4 yesterday for logs, just in case they get it. Plenty of young shoots coming from the stumps of those I cut down last year.

[ShootingEgg]

That's what THEY are saying. I cut down 4 yesterday for logs, just in case they get it. Plenty of young shoots coming from the stumps of those I cut down last year.

Well unless they can figure out how to combat it.....

[Grandalf]

Like dutch elm desease - The tree grows and then withers - Hence the name die back.

[Tamus]

_{I thought there had been some progress in breeding infection resistant strains. Any news on that?}

Edited April 5, 2016 by Tamus

[wascal]

_{I thought there had been some progress in breeding infection resistant strains. Any news on that?}

 

The breeding cycle of a tree is long, so that will take many years to perfect

Edited April 5, 2016 by wascal

[pegasus bridge]

_{I thought there had been some progress in breeding infection resistant strains. Any news on that?}

I heard a piece on the radio a few weeks back, apparently 2% of the population seem to show some immunity- but the outlook in the medium term was the loss of the majority of the population.

[norfolk dumpling]

We have had it here in Norfolk for a couple of years now and very few trees are unaffected. This spring, during high winds, the tops of a half dozen mature trees near me just snapped off in the wind. Dog walking one morning early I spent 10mins clearing our little lane of tree tops before the school run began! Quite scary hearing other trees snapping in the wind. The only upside for me is the new saplings in my garden all got it so not got to go around digging up the little beggars this year.

[oowee]

We have had it here in Norfolk for a couple of years now and very few trees are unaffected. This spring, during high winds, the tops of a half dozen mature trees near me just snapped off in the wind. Dog walking one morning early I spent 10mins clearing our little lane of tree tops before the school run began! Quite scary hearing other trees snapping in the wind. The only upside for me is the new saplings in my garden all got it so not got to go around digging up the little beggars this year.

Is it evident in young trees too? I planted about 50 trees here but avoided Ash and Chesnut (my large trees have canker) for fear of disease.

[norfolk dumpling]

It's most evident in small trees - the tops change from their usual grey/green to brown and become very brittle. With older trees the new leaf growth in the tree tops doesn't happen. In trees affected after the seeds have formed the seeds stay on the tree and are infertile if they do get blown off. Gradually they die back hence the name. You are not supposed to move the wood if the disease is detected and trees are felled but it's hit so many trees here that rules largely academic.

[Tamus]

I thought I heard a birdie say, and here we go... http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blogs/woodland-trust/2016/04/ash-dieback-statement/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wt_conservation_april2016&utm_content=ashdieback

[old'un]

That's what THEY are saying. I cut down 4 yesterday for logs, just in case they get it. Plenty of young shoots coming from the stumps of those I cut down last year.

Yes that is something I have noticed with Ash, if you cut them down to the ground they just send up new shoots, would this happen with infected trees or does it also kill the roots?

[rjimmer]

Yes that is something I have noticed with Ash, if you cut them down to the ground they just send up new shoots, would this happen with infected trees or does it also kill the roots?

Elms continue to regrow from the roots after something similar. They only last about 10-15 years before the beetle finds them again though.

[guest1957]

Elms continue to regrow from the roots after something similar. They only last about 10-15 years before the beetle finds them again though.

Elm have to get to a certain size before becoming susceptible. I am unsure of the mechanism.

 

If ash is regrowing from the stump, the infection wasn't fully advanced. The fungal spores in the area will get the regrowth quickly though.

[rjimmer]

The beetle that killed the Elm cannot fly far, it can only glide from a height until it hits the ground.

[JBS]

Looking around our 450 acre shoot the other day trying to imagine it with no ash, a very bleak future for a lot of mature woods. Has anyone actually put a timescale on it all?

[scolopax]

Why can't it be sycamores instead?

[Grandalf]

Cos I like sycamores...

[Tadorna]

And sycamore and hornbeam may be all we will be left with [for now].

[Kalahari]

Sycamore seems to be resistant to most of the nasty tree diseases at the moment. Maybe we should be planting belts of them to act as a "firewall" to reduce the spread of disease.

 

David.

[guest1957]

Sycamore seems to be resistant to most of the nasty tree diseases at the moment. Maybe we should be planting belts of them to act as a "firewall" to reduce the spread of disease.

 

David.

Sycamore around here get verticillium