Managing Trees with Decay & Dysfunction

[treeseer]

" In my shop, when we speak of columns, we mean columns of discoloration and decay. I knew that was not what you meant!"

 

Your shop must be full of pathologists, disease-centric.

 

"I don't know much about the tracing, I hear folks refer to it."

1 Tracing compacted bark down to phloem, to allow normal expansion.

2 Tracing included bark, to promote grafting and formation of a branch bark ridge, and avoid rams-horning.

 

I'll start a new thread on that.

Edited April 10, 2015 by treeseer

[treeseer]

Revisited a Quercus alba that had Armillaria 10+ years ago treated by exposure and drying. This was before a blowtorch and phosphorous acid were commonly used.

The sinus was dead >16" wide and 12" high. Most of the black shoelaces, white fans were removed.

Now the woundwood closing the wound is taking on lumpy veteran characteristics.

 

Old Ironsides!

[David Humphries]

Nice images.

 

Looks to be a good outcome Guy

 

Can you be sure the species of Armillaria back then was one of the more agressive pathogens from the genus or could it have been one with a more benign characteristic ?

 

8 or so different species of Armillaria in North America, I believe.

 

I ask as we've found what we believed to be the rhizomorphs of the parasite A. mellea turn out (via microscopy) to be A. gallica, which supposedly only kills trees that are already stressed by other biotic or abiotic factors.

 

Was the White oak in significant decline when you first saw it?

 

 

 

.

[treeseer]

Nope the signs of the infection were only in that sinus, though the other side has a sketchy sinus still, below. Crown is normal.

 

re taxonomy there is a lot of discussion and sorting over here so I did not try for species ID. ime host condition is the primary determinant.

 

Exposing the infection is a necessary diagnostic step, and drying it is a reasonable treatment in any case. What's to lose?

[KTSmith]

Excellent case study, Guy. Shows the importance of good record-keeping and follow-up. I'd also agree that knowing the precise species of Armillaria would help in the fungal ecology story, but for practical tree care is much less important. I know folks use some field characteristics to differentiate Armillaria, but the folks in my shop only believe in genetic sequencing, given variation and integradation of macro characters. Please don't argue with me on that, that's not my fight!

[treeseer]

No argument there; I agree taxonomy is less relevant in the field, and precision of species is difficult with or without getting into the genes (there's a bad joke there somewhere), especially given the process known as evolution!

 

I've seen Armillaria in several regions get compartmentalised, and confess to some skepticism that they all are the less virulent species or types or strains or whatever.

 

Until the drying protocol is tried and fails, how can one say it will not work?

 

And how can ANSI A300 put out an IPM standard that does not cover managing pests that decay wood? That just perpetuates the myth that we are helpless, resulting in the loss of so many valuable trees!

[David Humphries]

Tall full crowned woodland beech with fruiting of Meripilus giganteus popping out from between buttresses around its entire circumference.

 

Open access to a couple of dozen dog walkers each day.

 

We air spaded some of the soil and looked at sections of the root crown to ascertain the level of dysfunction and decay.

 

.

[David Humphries]

Tall full crowned woodland beech with fruiting of Meripilus giganteus popping out from between buttresses around its entire circumference.

 

Open access to a couple of dozen dog walkers each day.

 

We air spaded some of the soil and looked at sections of the root crown to ascertain the level of dysfunction and decay.

 

.

 

turned out (after listening with a nylon hammer), that there was very little (almost no) decay in the lateral structural roots which suggests the presence of the Merip is perhaps more to do with the recycling of the older unneeded root system under the trunk.

 

first opportunity for Jack (new team member) to see what the air spade was about.

 

.

[Fredward]

Awesome, I'd love to get into this, thanks for posting

[Nick Harrison]

I would never have considered that old rooting material could be the reason for the presence of Merip at the base of a beech. guess that's the advantage of having an air spade to hand to investigate.

i'm sure most times Merip is found at the base of a tree the worst is feared...i assume given the low target you're not gonna worry too much about this one (is this on the west heath)?