Ash dieback

[Mark Chaplin]

Are there any British courses likely to be seriously affected by Ash dieback? It looks like we may lose all of our Ash trees.

[Mark McKeever]

Wow....that just got me thinking.  If we had a pine dieback in PA, my life wouldnt be the same...

Mark

[Rich Goodale]

A gorse dieback would be nice....

[David_Tepper]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20253767

[Neil White]

Mark,

Was looking at this earlier today and came across this:-



A quick glance suggests that nearly everyone will be affected in one way or another - although how many courses have ash as a dominant species is questionable.

My home course only has ash trees ~15/20 years old which make up about 10% of our total tree coverage - we are already looking out for signs of the disease and thankfully haven't found any yet.  Reports would suggest however, that eventually we will all suffer from the disease in one way or another.

The Forestry Commission web-site has useful information regarding the current outbreak http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara

Neil.

[Tom_Doak]

We've lost a very high percentage of ash trees in the states over the past 2-3 years.  I had to take out nearly a dozen of them around my house.  And I've taken a lot at the clubs where we consult. 

[Kris Shreiner]

Very unfortunate. Our stateside ash have been under assault from the Emerald Ash Borer, which hitch-hiked over in wooden packing crates from Asia and quickly established in the Upper Midwest and has marched East, killing millions of trees. This is sadly a negative bi-product of rapid transport of goods, worldwide, when there is little inspection or safeguard opportunities for detection of pests or diseases.

I don't believe that die-back pathogen is stateside yet, but in today's world, all bets are off. It is quite alarming really, the number of various tree species being hit very hard by pests or disease. When you think about the implications, with the sun and water being the other absolutes for our survival, more efforts must be made to assess what must be done to slow down a resource-consuming planet hurtling down a path to a very bleak future.

Cheers,
Kris

[Jon Wiggett]

There are certain areas in the south of England where Ash is as much as one third of the tree population. These places will see a big difference. What will be a bigger issue though will be the cost of getting rid of the trees. Many will have TPOs on them and you can be sure that bureaucracy will be so slow as to ensure all the trees in a stand will be infected before permission is given to fell the initial diseased trees. As it has to be felled and burned this will mean transporting off site to be burned at an approved facility. All of which will be very expensive.

Jon

[Ian Andrew]

We've lost a very high percentage of ash trees in the states over the past 2-3 years.  I had to take out nearly a dozen of them around my house.  And I've taken a lot at the clubs where we consult. 

Courses in Southern Ontario are being depleted of Ash very quickly. In many cases the loss will be devestating since Ash was a cheaper alternative to Sugar Maples and Oaks and used often throughout the last four or five decades. It was a heavily overused species that seems to have been planted in groupings helping to spread the bore faster. Clubs are finding out why they should not plant in groupings.

[Bradley Anderson]

I treated 150 ash trees this summer for $3,000 and the product should last for two years. I think it is worth the investment when you consider the amount of time and inconvenience to remove trees. Three men can do about 50 trees a day with the right tools.

[PCCraig]

I treated 150 ash trees this summer for $3,000 and the product should last for two years. I think it is worth the investment when you consider the amount of time and inconvenience to remove trees. Three men can do about 50 trees a day with the right tools.

Brad,

How much would estimate it would cost to remove the 150 ash trees?

[Bradley Anderson]

I treated 150 ash trees this summer for $3,000 and the product should last for two years. I think it is worth the investment when you consider the amount of time and inconvenience to remove trees. Three men can do about 50 trees a day with the right tools.

Brad,

How much would estimate it would cost to remove the 150 ash trees?

These trees were not fully mature - probably $200/tree when you factor in stump grinding. I should have added that our ash trees are all protecting homes on the perimeters and in addition to the removal cost we would be paying to plant replacement trees and those would have to be watered and mulched till establishment.

[Ian Andrew]

I treated 150 ash trees this summer for $3,000 and the product should last for two years. I think it is worth the investment when you consider the amount of time and inconvenience to remove trees. Three men can do about 50 trees a day with the right tools.

Bradley,

I thought the treatment must be done each year for three years to be sure.

It has worked here ... so far ... for key trees at one of the clubs I work with.

[Bradley Anderson]

The injection method lasts 2-3 years. You have to buy a special gun to inject the material. It is more costly than spraying the trunk or treating the soil around the tree, but more effective.

[Ian Andrew]

Facinating, that is also what was used here, but we were told repeated annual applications are required.
I'm sure the applications are different or perhaps the methodology is.

[Tom_Doak]

Facinating, that is also what was used here, but we were told repeated annual applications are required.
I'm sure the applications are different or perhaps the methodology is.

Ian:

I'm sure your local applicator just wants you to be extra safe! 

[John Kirk]

We have Oregon ash in the Tualatin River Valley.  They are handsome trees.  I see no degradation at this time.  The Rocky Mountains and the Cascades act as a buffer that separate bird and tree species, and hopefully diseases.  The range of the Oregon ash:

[Bradley Anderson]

http://www.arborjet.com/index.php/arborjet_for_you/homeowner/EAB_treatment_for_Homeowners/?gclid=CPea_MSwxbMCFehDMgodIU0AqQ

John,

Here's the product and system we used.

[Mike McGuire]

Around here (Wisconsin) the alarm bells have been going off for years with no real problem to be found.

I know a tree guy who doesn't think it is or ever will really be a problem. Perhaps an over reaction? Did Detroit panic and cut down every ash tree within a mile of a "sighting" ?

[Dan Herrmann]

The mantra here in the States:

[Ian Andrew]

Bradley,

The method used here is the injectable insecticide TreeAzin injected under the bark and directly into the conductive tissues.

[SL_Solow]

Beware Wisconsin.  I live in Highland Park Il, less than a half hour from the border.  We didn't have problems before but 2 weeks ago I had to cut down 6 mature ashes on my house property.  My super sees it coming to our club which is 10 minutes away.  I hope you can avoid the borer but it appears inevitable.  The issue is how bad will it be?

[Matthew Essig]

Why do humans have to alter nature?

If the trees die out, they are extinct. So be it.

If the trees survive, they adapted. So be it.

It is all part of life.

[Bradley Anderson]

Why do humans have to alter nature?

If the trees die out, they are extinct. So be it.

If the trees survive, they adapted. So be it.

It is all part of life.

Matthew,

The Emerald Ash Beetle came to a suburb of Detroit inside of a pallet that was shipped from Asia. It emerged from the pallet and went out looking for a place to lay eggs. The reason why it chose the Ash tree was because the bark of that species has a V shaped pattern that is ideal for the laying of eggs. That's how random this phenomena is.

The Gypsy Fly moth was brought to Boston by a man who wanted to make silk in America. The moths escaped out of his laboratory and began destroying entire forests in Massachusetts. The state responded by starting an extension service to stop the spread of the moth - a system that would eventually be adopted by all the states.

If we did not devise ways to control exotic pests that have no natural predators to check their progress the world would be a very different place from the one we enjoy today. The native species that depend on their environment being preserved would die off. It may sound crazy to say this but imagine what would happen to the squirrel population if the gypsy fly moth was left uncontrolled? What about owls and hawks that live in Oak trees? Where would they nest if all the hardwood trees died?

[Matthew Essig]

Why do humans have to alter nature?

If the trees die out, they are extinct. So be it.

If the trees survive, they adapted. So be it.

It is all part of life.

Matthew,

The Emerald Ash Beetle came to a suburb of Detroit inside of a pallet that was shipped from Asia. It emerged from the pallet and went out looking for a place to lay eggs. The reason why it chose the Ash tree was because the bark of that species has a V shaped pattern that is ideal for the laying of eggs. That's how random this phenomena is.

The Gypsy Fly moth was brought to Boston by a man who wanted to make silk in America. The moths escaped out of his laboratory and began destroying entire forests in Massachusetts. The state responded by starting an extension service to stop the spread of the moth - a system that would eventually be adopted by all the states.

If we did not devise ways to control exotic pests that have no natural predators to check their progress the world would be a very different place from the one we enjoy today. The native species that depend on their environment being preserved would die off. It may sound crazy to say this but imagine what would happen to the squirrel population if the gypsy fly moth was left uncontrolled? What about owls and hawks that live in Oak trees? Where would they nest if all the hardwood trees died?

It is part of life. If all the trees die out, the bettles or disease or whatever then dies out because has nothing to eat, nest, whatever. What people don't realize is it is very rare for something to be become extinct because it backfires on the predator, parasite, etc.