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Meripilus the pathogen


scotspine1
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I think the confusion comes from the meaning of the word.

 

It suggests that a host is suffering from an illness or disease which would be perceived as terminal.

 

Evidence suggests however, that a tree "can" exist with Merip for decades, if not longer .

 

This evidence is from those that have been watching trees with Merip over significant time spans.

 

There is also the suggestion that there may be more than one form of Merip, one or more of these being benign.

This from JFL in a paper of his that was offered to the National Meripilus Network.

 

 

I don't believe anyone is naive enough to suggest that Merip is not a decay fungi to worry about Tim.

 

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Edited by Monkey-D
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I think the confusion comes from the meaning of the word.

 

It suggests that a host is suffering from an illness or disease which would be perceived as terminal.

 

 

Are you saying that some arborists are afraid of telling clients that they have a pathogenic fungi in their tree for fear of the client saying 'remove it'?

 

Are these arborists the opposite of the 'if in doubt, get it out' brigade?

 

 

 

Evidence suggests however, that a tree "can" exist with Merip for decades, if not longer .

 

This evidence is from those that have been watching trees with Merip over significant time spans.

 

Yes, I agree, but that's beside the point, Meripilus giganteus is still a pathogen. So surely if you observe it on the tree you have to inform the client of this fact?

If you fail to do so or imply it is a saprobe are you are neglecting your professional duty of care?

 

It's about language, your right, if you were an arb consultant brought before a court as an expert witness and you implied Meripilus giganteus was a saprobe in the face of published evidence which says its a pathogen you'd probably lose all credibility.

 

 

 

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Edited by scotspine1
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Are you saying that some arborists are afraid of telling clients that they have a pathogenic fungi in their tree for fear of the client saying 'remove it'?

 

Are these arborists the opposite of the 'if in doubt, get it out' brigade?

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I agree, but that's beside the point, Meripilus giganteus is still a pathogen. So surely if you observe it on the tree you have to inform the client of this fact?

If you fail to do so or imply it is a saprobe are you are neglecting your professional duty of care?

 

 

It's about language, your right, if you were an arb consultant brought before a court as an expert witness and you implied Meripilus giganteus was a saprobe in the face of published evidence which says its a pathogen you'd probably lose all credibility.

 

 

 

.

 

I think, as with MOST of the principle decay fungi a lot of work needs to be done, not only to allow the tree to be saved as and when possible but also to allow fungi as much right to exist as any other organism.

 

 

 

Wether a fungi is a pathogen is still in debate, facultive might be more appropriate, but what do i know?

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There is no doubt that Meripilus is a Pathogen BUT it is suggested and has been documented that certain species of trees can and have survived for many years whilst diseased with Meripilus HOWEVER the trees in most cases need more frequent inspections and remedial work needs to be carried out for the tree to remain . i personally would not withhold any information regarding tree disease from a client but i would make them aware of the information i have regarding Meripilus and further explain what the options BUT retaining such trees is dependant uppon many factors such as location , targets etc etc .

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Wether a fungi is a pathogen is still in debate

 

Take Honey fungus for example - we know from current published research it's a pathogen to trees, as a professional you have to refer to current published research when making recommendations, writing reports etc. The current research available describes both Honey fungus and Merip as pathogens of trees.

 

 

 

 

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I have seen plenty of cases where Honey, has decayed the inner core as a saprophyte over a period of maybe decades, and only in late stages as the usualy ornamental tree wains does it go into "typical" cambium killer mode.

 

the latest latest research is progress, but not a full understanding.

 

studying dead material in a lab is no subsitute for real world scenarios.

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  • 2 years later...

Maybe pathogenesis isn't an ideal word to describe all fungal infections of live trees (pathogen = biological agent disrupting normal physiology). We could also argue long and hard about the saprobe/parasite boundary, but for practical purposes all this doesn't always matter.

 

What does matter is the prognosis, which is a function of research and diagnosis, the latter flowing from the former. The more complete the former, the more reliable the prediction of the latter.

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What does matter is the prognosis, which is a function of research and diagnosis, the latter flowing from the former. The more complete the former, the more reliable the prediction of the latter.

 

'Options available' is also perhaps part (individual case dependent) of the management evaluation that is not always expanded on fully toward the latter stages of diagnosis & prescription?

 

 

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