Warm weather sparks earlier oak wilt disease conerns

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2012

 

CONTACT: Roger Mech, 517-335-4408 or mechr@michigan.gov; or

                    Robert Heyd, 906-228-6561 or heydr@michigan.gov

 

 

DNR advises earlier caution – statewide – against oak wilt disease

Forest health experts say to avoid unnecessary tree pruning, cutting

 

Due to the unseasonably warmer temperatures this spring, the window for the transmission of oak wilt from diseased to healthy red oak trees has already started, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.

 

According to Dr. Robert Heyd, Forest Pest Management Program Manager for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division, oak wilt is a serious disease of oak trees – mainly red oaks, including northern red oak, black oak and pin oak – in Michigan and seven other neighboring Midwestern states. Red oaks will die within a few weeks after becoming infected, though white oaks are more resistant and the disease progresses more slowly. This year the disease risk for trees is especially high and ahead of schedule.

 

“The normal time-tested advice is to prevent oak wilt by not pruning or otherwise ‘injuring’ oaks from April 15 to July 15,” said Dr. Heyd. He said the spread of oak wilt occurs during this time of year as beetles move spores from fungal fruiting structures on last year’s oak wilt-killed trees to wounds on healthy oaks. Because of the warmer weather, the beetles that move oak wilt – and the oak wilt inoculum – are present in many areas.

 

“Anyone who has lost trees to oak wilt knows not to cut trees from mid-April to mid-June,” Dr. Heyd explained. “But, with the warmer weather and the higher risk, the timeframe has moved up much earlier. Prevention efforts – not cutting and pruning – really need to start now.”

 

Dr. Heyd said although oak wilt hasn’t been detected in every Michigan County, the need for vigilance is present statewide. “With the transport of firewood and other tree-related activities, you have to assume the risk is present, whether you live in metro Detroit or Menominee.”

 

Oak wilt has already been detected in the following counties: Alcona; Allegan; Alpena; Antrim; Barry; Berrien; Calhoun; Clinton; Crawford; Dickinson; Genesee; Gladwin; Iron; Kalamazoo; Kalkaska; Kent; Lenawee; Livingston; Macomb; Manistee; Menominee; Midland; Missaukee; Monroe; Montmorency; Muskegon; Oakland; Ogemaw; Oscoda; Ottawa; Roscommon; Saginaw; Shiawassee; Van Buren; Washtenaw; Wayne; and Wexford.

 

Springtime is a popular time for people to move firewood to vacation properties and other locations. During this April-to-June period, Dr. Heyd said it’s vital not to move wood from oak wilt-killed trees. These trees are often cut into firewood and moved, sometimes many miles from their original locations. Any wounding of oaks in this new area can result in new oak wilt infections as beetles move spores from the diseased firewood to fresh wounds on otherwise healthy trees.

 

The DNR recommends that anyone who suspects they have oak wilt-tainted firewood should cover it with a plastic tarp all the way to the ground, leaving no openings. This keeps the beetles away and generates heat inside the tarp, helping to destroy the fungus. Once the bark loosens on the firewood, the disease can no longer be spread.

 

New oak wilt sites have been traced to spring and early summer wounding from tree-climbing spikes, rights-of-way pruning, nailing signs on trees, and accidental tree-barking. If an oak is wounded during this critical time, the DNR advises residents to cover the wound immediately with either a tree-wound paint or a latex paint to help keep the beetles away.

 

Once an oak is infected, the fungus moves to neighboring red oaks through root grafts. Oaks within approximately 100 feet of each other – depending on the size of the trees – have connected or grafted root systems. Left untreated, oak wilt will continue to move from tree to tree, progressively killing more red oak over an increasingly larger area. These untreated pockets also serve as a source of inoculum for the overland spread of the disease.

 

Get more information on the background, symptoms and prevention of oak wilt at  

http://michigansaf.org/forestinfo/Health/E2764-OakWilt.pdf.

 

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr. 

 

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NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos showing examples of oak wilt disease in leaves and on a tree are provided below.

  

• oak_wilt_leaf_symptoms1.jpg
• oak_wilt_leaves_and_tree.jpg
• oak_wilt_leaf_symptoms2.jpg