Splanchnonema platani

[Bundle 2]

So I don't have to go dissecting every Plane tree, what are the symptoms and significance of said nasty?

 

 

Hey, if anyone needs the services of a climber/inspector...Im free!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Hey, if anyone needs the services of a climber/inspector...Im free!

 

Since when was you a climbing arb! thought you was one of THEM!

[Bundle 2]

Since when was you a climbing arb! thought you was one of THEM!

 

What can I say...?

I have NCH-Arb, NPTC's coming out my ears, AA-PTI & QTRA licensed....I am well placed to complete climbing surveys/assessments...In many ways, it would be my ideal job!

 

Keep on topic!

[scotspine1]

Mattheck covered Massaria on his recent seminar in Dunkeld, very tricky to identify symptoms even with climbing inspections as the fungi decays the wood fast, infected branches can die and break off within a couple of months. Apparently the top of an infected limb can look purple. It also spreads fast in hot summers due to drought stress. Its always the top of the limb near the stem that becomes infected -

 

These pics were taken by an arborist in Holland in July 2008 -

Edited July 9, 2010 by scotspine1

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

This ones going to play havoc over the next few years, imagine the publics views of limb failures in central london! i can hear thier cries now, "death to all Planes"

[janey]

This ones going to play havoc over the next few years, imagine the publics views of limb failures in central london! i can hear thier cries now, "death to all Planes"

 

They do that anyway if it's within visual distance of their foundations!

 

I've been vaguely aware of the existance of this, but it looks like I've got some bed time reading to do now.

 

Oh, and Bundle 2, when you say you're free, does that mean you are £FREE£ ? That's the kinda price I likes.

[Bundle 2]

They do that anyway if it's within visual distance of their foundations!

 

I've been vaguely aware of the existance of this, but it looks like I've got some bed time reading to do now.

 

Oh, and Bundle 2, when you say you're free, does that mean you are £FREE£ ? That's the kinda price I likes.

 

No, sorry for the confusion.

IME, if something is free, it's because it's no bl***y good!! lol

 

Tim

[David Humphries]

This ones going to play havoc over the next few years, imagine the publics views of limb failures in central london! i can hear thier cries now, "death to all Planes"

 

 

 

This really could become a nightmare on a lot of different fronts.

 

Janey (from her death bed, it should be noted) & I were down at the recent London Tree Officers quarterly meet where Mike Turner (Principal Arb at the Royal Parks) gave a very blunt account of what they have/are finding.

 

 

Out of the 2445 mature London Planes that the Royal Parks manage across their central London Parks.

 

570 of these have had or have been, infected by Massaria.

 

That's 23% !!!

 

& that's a very significant number, especialy when you consider the sheer number of footfall that any one of these major open spaces actualy has.

 

For example;

 

St James's Park has for the main part a majority canopy cover of London Plane, which spreads above an annual footfall in the region of 6 million visits.

 

& that's just one of 7 similar Parks.

 

If one of these significantly sized branches fails & lands on some poor soul, there will be major ramifications.

 

 

 

scary thought..........

 

 

.

[scotspine1]

Has it been seen north of London?

[janey]

Mike Turner in his talk at the LTOA Quarterly said that the affected limbs were predominently those of the lower crown, typically in the first three ranks and in the inner canopy. He also said that infected limbs were easy to attribute to natural limb dieback and shedding because these are exactly the type of branches you would expect to be shed.

 

I wish I'd had the opportunity to ask him more about this as, to my mind, there could be an argument that Massaria is only very weakly parasitic and is exploiting the reduced vigour in the branches the tree is preparing to annexe and shed. The figures he gave were alarming, but I would be interested in the data collected on the number of dead / dropped branches that couldn't be attributed to anything other than the tree ridding itself of energy inefficient limbs. Any thoughts on this?

 

Also, there was anacdotal mention of different clones being more suspectible. Following on from that, has there been any incidences in P orientalis or P occidentalis - or even different genera???

 

Enlightenment sought