Thousand Canker Disease

[edfrank]

Thousand Canker Disease

Please spread the word and become familar with this disease (Thousand Cankers Disease) and insect vector (walnut twig beetle). Start looking at black walnut and other Juglans species.

Please distribute to staff and others who need to know about this new disease and insect. If you recall, the furthest east this disease and insect was reported was Denver, CO, so Tennessee is a big leap eastward and means that it is most likely in other locations.

FH committee members:

Thousand cankers disease (TCD) of walnut has been confirmed in Tennesee. I suggest that you stay in touch with your state department of agriculture colleagues for any updates that may come through APHIS PPQ. Currently there is no federal quarantine for the pathogen or the insect vector. According to the attached note from Ted Nisserat at Colorado State University who, along with colleagues confirmed the presence of both Geosmithia sp. and the beetle Pityophthorus juglandisfrom a sample sent by Dr. Scott Schlarbaum (Univ TN), the pathogen has been in the Knoxville area for several years causing decline and mortality. This is, of course, the first report of the presence of the disease within the native range of J. nigra. I'll continue to pass along to you any additional information about the find. If you haven't been thinking about thousand cankers disease in your survey and monitoring activities now might be a good time to revisit that. I've attached an analysis of the potential impacts of TCD prepared by the Kansas Forest Service and Kansas State University this past March to give you some idea of the scope of effects. Also attached is the pest alert that we prepared this spring. Stay tuned.

Noel F. Schneeberger, Forest Health Program Leader
USDA Forest Service

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[Beth]

I wonder if it sill spread to butternuts too. That might be the final straw for them.

Beth

[gnmcmartin]

Beth:

Yes, butternut is susceptible. This disease is very depressing news. From what I have read, it will be especially difficult to stop, so eventually all our black walnuts may be gone. An infection is hard to spot until after three years, and by that time it will have spread further. And there are as yet no chemical treatments. I wonder how long it will be before it will be here in Northern VA. It could be overnight if someone gives it a ride.

A web search using "TCD of walnut trees" will turn up anything that Ed has not already referenced.

--Gaines

[James Parton]

Walnuts are common here in the North Carolina Mountains too. Too many trees are under attack. If something cannot be done we will end up having low diversity forests or none at all. Or forests of invasives like Paradise Tree ( Ailanthus ) or Princess Tree ( Paulownia ).

[Larry Tucei]

All, Wow all we need is another Disease. There are so many now its hard to remember them all. A link to some of the Pests. http://forestry.about.com/od/diseases/t ... Diseas.htm Larry

[russ richardson]

I'm not sure how fast the thousand canker disease will factor into Appalachian forests but I would suspect that if it jumps a lot farther than just across the Missippi where it currently is that it might add just another notch to the list of permanent changes in our forests that have developed since ENTS was founed to document exceptional trees and forests.

The emerald ash borer has been found in more areas of West Virginia this year and hemlock woolly adelgid is becoming far more widespread in the state.

Information like this is daunting, intrguing and....as a person trying to grow healthy trees, starting to get just a tad disheartening.

Russ Richardson