Willow with sudden branch death?

[Xerxses]

Bit stumped here...

 

Last year a big Willow in one of our parks lost a big limb suddenly, there was a slight modification in the limb but no mycelium or FB present (that were visible) I dit a VTA of the other trees and did inspect the trees (all willows) several times during the season and in the autumn to try to spot any fungus, but to no avail. I found some Honey fungus in the other end of the park on the site where a willow was felled 2 years ago and ground out.

2 trees were slightly sparse in their foliage, but nothing unexpected in willows that are in their 70ies.

 

Now to my problem...

 

This year a massive branch has died during winter (no leafs, no bursting buds, nothin. Last year the branch was fully in leaf) The branch is one of 5 scaffolding branches... There is no sign of decay or fb:s, mycelium or something. No evidence of any fungus around the trunk. No signs of any boring insects...

 

Any advise?

 

I would like to keep the tree but this makes me wondering....

I could just whack of the branch and se what happens but if there is some serious issue with the tree it would be good to know what it is. (I dissaprove of pollards as it sends the wrong message to the public. But I´m willing to make an exeption...)

[Xerxses]

And some pics of the culprit...

[pgkevet]

Bit stumped here...

 

cricket bat willow?

 

<sorry>

[Xerxses]

No white Willow, Salix alba.

[David Humphries]

Not sure of the reason for the branch demise Tobias, but based upon your fine context shots I would certainly reduce the protruding laterals, as the loss of the dead limb in such a short time frame will be having a significant impact on the joint overall dampening effect against the wind of the canopy as a whole.

 

Possibly a 4 -5 m reducation of the three or four obvious laterals in the shot with the mothers & children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any possiblity of root damage on the dead limb side of the tree?

 

Can't see from the shot but there looks like something going on in between the people group & the tree in the grass.

 

Can you expand?

 

 

.

Edited June 23, 2011 by Monkey-D

[David Humphries]

We're loosing a significant number of Salix alba here at the Heath.

 

possible drought, Armillaria, Ganoderma & Laetiporus issues.

 

 

.

[Xerxses]

Cheers M-D

 

That's just some shrubs recently cut down and mulched. I believe there has been a tree on that side previously, but I don't know the history of it. There is a new tree in it's place that looks like it's been there some 5-10 years...

 

No digging that I'm aware of. No pipes or cables going past. Retarmacked the paths some 10 years ago.

Edited June 23, 2011 by Xerxses

[Woody22]

have you conducted a climbing inspection because i was working upon a willow not long ago with a whole branch dead while the rest was perfectly heathly and turned out that had a type of phytopera (sorry if spelt wrong) and had killed the entire branch in a matter of weeks. just food for thought.

[Xerxses]

have you conducted a climbing inspection because i was working upon a willow not long ago with a whole branch dead while the rest was perfectly heathly and turned out that had a type of phytopera (sorry if spelt wrong) and had killed the entire branch in a matter of weeks. just food for thought.

 

I havent climbed the whole tree, only as far as the ladders would go...

 

I assesed the area around and the fork itself and checked the old pruning wound.

 

I didnt check any branches for vascular wilt symptoms, but its one possibility I suppose. I will check the inner bark and cambium for signs. I have to get my kit and collegue aswell to be able climb. Phytophthora canker causes the inner bark and cambium to turn brown (or pink on some trees) with a well- defined margin, am I right?

 

On the other hand there was no curled up and brown leaf, which is common, in my experience, with vascular vilt diseases. and shouldn´t it be some sort of bleeding of a red-brown liquid on the stem or branch?

 

What did it look like in your tree?

 

Food for thought indeed...

[Woody22]

I havent climbed the whole tree, only as far as the ladders would go...

 

I assesed the area around and the fork itself and checked the old pruning wound.

 

I didnt check any branches for vascular wilt symptoms, but its one possibility I suppose. I will check the inner bark and cambium for signs. I have to get my kit and collegue aswell to be able climb. Phytophthora canker causes the inner bark and cambium to turn brown (or pink on some trees) with a well- defined margin, am I right?

 

On the other hand there was no curled up and brown leaf, which is common, in my experience, with vascular vilt diseases. and shouldn´t it be some sort of bleeding of a red-brown liquid on the stem or branch?

 

What did it look like in your tree?

 

Food for thought indeed...

 

im no expert of the area of phytophthora, as i only know what i have seen or what little i have been told but from what i have seen are:

 

lots of small bleeding black cancers, hard to spot from the ground,

 

the branch had no leaves and clearly dead.

the are no pruning wounds and the cambium is what is affected while the sap and heartwood is unaffected,

 

i assuming it kills of the xylem and phloem and prevents nutrient transport but dnt quote me on this.

 

what i did find was the cambium was very wet and and very dark crimson red, almost black but as you said, it could quite possibly be vascular wilt disease.

 

Keep us posted, would be very interested to find what the cause was.