bark disease refers to a complex that - PDF document

bark disease refers to a complex that American beech ( Fagus grandifoli Lind)(= Baer.). The tiny Nectria fungus to kills ardy tissue, sometimes creating cankers on the tree stemand large branches. If enough tissue is killed, the tree will beees may linger for several years,eventually succumbing to oot sprouts arcommon after trees die or break. Michigan will be challenging. Bothted in the wind.Eventually beech scale and beech barkfect beech trthrbulletin is to help you understand the Distribution: accidentally introduced into Nova ts of New Yorkof Quebec, northern Pennsylvania and, most recently,irginia, North Carolina,Tennessee, Ohio and Ontario. of Beech Bark Disease Deborah G. McCulloughRobert L. HeydJoseph G. OÕBrienAssociate professor of forest entomologyForest health specialistForest pathologistDept. of Entomology and Dept. of ForestryForest Management DivisionUSDA Forest ServiceMichigan State UniversityMichigan Dept. of Natural ResourcesNortheastern Area State East Lansing, Mich.Marquette, Mich.and Private Forestry MichiganÕs Newest Exotic Forest Pest found in several counties in the northwestern LowerPeninsula and in areas of the eastern Upper Peninsula. As Beech scales are yellow, soft-bodied insects that are 0.5 to their bodies. Scales reproduce by parthenogenesis, whichoccurs. This form of reproduction enables scale populations Beech scale has one generation per year. Adultslay pale yellow eggs on the bark in midsummer, then die. They produce the white wax that eventually covers theirbodies. Second-stage crawlers overwinter and molt to the Crawlers that fall from trees or arewashed off during heavy rains in late summer and autumndegrees F) that persist for at least a few days may kill someotected by moss. A small twice-stabbed ladybird beetle, Chilocorus stigma SaySayees, it cannot control an infestation. body of the adult or move to other areas of the same tree.scale infestations in Michigan, West Virginia and Ohio all Virginia and Ontario, Canada. The asexual form of ( Gliocladium roseum uiting bodies N. galligena and N. coccinea var. are tiny and bright red and occur in clusters on es are released from perithecia in the fall and canIn Michigan and some other areas, however, perithecia can ting infested beech firewood between colonize areas of the tree where the bark is rough. Newlyareas of roughtrunk and large bark disease in North America. pathogen that causes perennial cankers on many hardwoodspecies. It rarely affects beech, however, unless beech scale var. an exotic pathogen that was introduced from Europe. Often, Nectria association with beech bark disease in Pennsylvania, West are light-colored. Nectria coccinea are bright red. rees dying from raggedy. Leaves remain on the trees but become yellowishlater in the summer. ee Nectria appear. The asexual spores can be found from midsummer infection: Tarry spots are often an . Tarry spots occurinjuries, however, can also cause tarry spots to form.Typically only the bark and inner bark are killed by the sapwood when the cankers are infected by other fungi. The eas on the tree, causinglinear strips of bark to die along the trbark on vigorous trees, callus tissue often forms and the barkbecomes re small. If beech scale numbers are high,however eads or coalesces rapidly and is not Tarry spots can indicate Disease Invasion Advancing Front, the Killing Front and the Aftermath Advancing Fr Estimates from northeastern forests suggest that beech scaleand the Advancing Front spread at roughly 6 miles per year. infestation is a long distance from other affected areas. ont e beech scale infection is abundant. Tree experienced the first wave of beech mortality. These stands est are mostly defective and declining. Some large trees partially resistant. Tree mortality longer, however, if the area is a long inoculum in the area is low. largest trees and trees with heavy trees were weak, grew slowly and had large-diameter beech trees have been killed. Trees that beetles often bore into dead sapwood, and their galleriesweaken areas of the tree. Many trees that are partially galleries are broken by high winds. This breakage is called Hypoxylon and Young beech trees that escape or regenerate after the first reas to form on the stem owns before beech barkdisease invades a stand are often thefirst to succumb to beech barke drought orconsecutive years of sever Wildlife Ñ Beech provides foodfall and winter, including blackturkeys and deer. Trees begin toproduce substantial numbers of nuts at about age 40. By agee produced every 2 to 8 years. Thishard mast is especially important in northern forests where om pileated woodpeckers to nuthatches. Pineof alternative hard mast producers such as oak, hickory orhazel. Large, open-grown wolf trees and trees with decay areto beech bark disease. Trees that diedead trees or as coarse woody debris.Over the long term, however, the d an that develop from parent trees that were killed by beechsprouts from susceptible trees are allowed to grow, the long- ch in New York stands that weraffected by beech bark disease for at least 10 years showed ficial. Trees with raised lesions or blocky bark wood defect. Most defects were removed with the bark slabtime, usually because of bark inclusions buried in wood.affected lumber grade rather than volume. Trees that werehad extensive wood defects or, more typically, died. Bark Disease trees are resistant to beech barkfree trees are occasionally observed.and disease can be found. Trials haveOther trees are partially resistant andstructure and chemistry that make certain trees unsuitableIn eastern states where beech usually develops from rootsprouts, resistant trees tend to occur in groups and aregenetically related. However, beech may regenerate fromeastern states. This also suggests that resistant trees are as be needed to confirm these patterns. Efforts to identify andselect resistant and partially resistant trees will be a critical oper management strategy depends on thedisease status of the stand, as well as your managementfected by beech scale orAdvancing Front. ee of Beech Scale other hand, if beech is a minor component of the overstory, Generally, it will not be necessary to enter these stands species. Mortality of scattered large beech trees may increase basal area in a stand, effects of beech bark disease may beopriate actions will depend on theexisting condition of the stand, the management objectivesoximity of the stand to theAdvancing Front. beech from a stand. However, increasing tree speciesreduce rates of beech scale reproduction and spread. Beechexposed to sunlight during much of the day. Birch, blackcherry, red maple or other shade-intolerant species will growbrowsing deer, however, and browsing may decreasesuccessful regeneration of more favored species in areas with Retain vigorous trees with smooth bark. potentially resistant trees is important for decreasing thebark disease. Vigorous trees and trees with smooth bark will mature trees, trees with rough bark, and trees with especially if roots are injured in spring. shelterwood harvests. Gylphosate the arrival of beech scale. trunks of large trees, often around via selection or planting. e infested with beech scale orees for salvage. Identify, mark and retain resistant trees . In stands that areinfested with beech scale, look for trees that have no beech groups if they originated as root sprouts. However, resistanttrees that regenerated from seed may be scattered throughthe stand. In eastern Canada, five to six trees per acre wereconserving the beech resource over the long term. Identify trees for salvage. Large, overmature trees with roughbark disease. Generally, increasing egenerationmay require Dense regeneration from root sprouts will also increase , especially where wildlife habitat is an impord stands, and this hard mast ovides an important food Favor regeneration of other tree via selection or planting. or logs from infested stands to om infested wooto live beech trees. This could Tree mortality usually starts soon Nectria You may find tar spots, clusters ofbecause the scale insects will not survive on areas of wood above. Salvage dead or declining tr secondary decay fungi that can degrade wood within 2 to 3dead wood Ñ these trees are likely to have defects.Consider retaining some large trees to provide wildlife that are Consider control of beech regeneration described above. or logs from infested stands to ger,overstory trees are killed and may be able tocompartmentalize cankers. These trees, however, often havelead to defects. Trees with convoluted bark are seldom killed trees will have low value and volume. trees can often be sold for fuelwood or chips. Resistant trees will be very obvious in the aftermath forest. Affected trees with lesions in the Aftermath Forest. . Beech Trees in Recreation bark resulting from which further predispose the tree to breakage. This creates ahazard to people and personal property when large beechtrees occur in campgrounds or other recreation areas or nearTrees posing a hazard to people or property should bespecies before beech scale reaches your area increasesprevent scales from reinfesting trees Nectria fungi. pressure nozzle on a garden hose or similar means. It isdifficult, however, to remove scales from the upper part ofthe trunk or crown of large trees. Dormant and horticultural oils are petroleum-basedproducts that cover and suffocate soft-bodied insects such astrees are dormant. scales. Efforts are underway to identify effective productsJournal of Applied Forestry may require removal. Houston, D.R., and J.T. OÕBrien. 1983. Beech bark disease.Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Hamden,Houston, D.R., and H.T. Valentine. 1988. Beech barkforests of Maine. Canadian Journal of Forest Researcha preliminary review of the overstory plots in C-52 Std-40,Allegheny National Forest. Internal report. USDA ForestService, Region 9, Morgantown, W. Va.Symposium for Northern Forests, March 24-27, 1986. Mize, C.W., and R.V. Lea. 1978. The effect of beech northern hardwoods. European Journal of Forest PathologyOstrofsky, W.D., and M.L. McCormack, Jr. 1986.disease. Northern Journal of Applied Forestry 3:89-91.Powell, S.M., E.C. York, J.J. Scanlong and T.K. Fuller. 1997.G. Prouis, H.N. Bryant and P.M. Wooeds.eds.axonomy, Ecology, Techniques and Management.Tubbs, C.H., and D.R. Houston. 1990. American beech. hardwoods. USDA Forest Service Agricultural Handbook654, Washington, D.C. . Healy. 1987. Guide tohardwoods. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Forest e. Thomas Coon, Extension director, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI 48824. ¥ This information is forcial product or company.Rep. 3/05 - 5M, SP/KMF, Price $1.00.