Save your oaks!
Save your oaks!
Oak wilt, chestnut beetles and other diseases are killing tens of thousands of oaks in northwestern Wisconsin. Not one here and one there, but large stands. It starts with insect infestation, then toxins spread through roots of neighboring trees that have grafted together. Within a year the trees are dead. The pulp becomes porous and the tree falls with the first good wind. The logs and limbs are often not even suitable for firewood!
Once a tree is infected, the disease eventually chokes it to death. Red oaks are especially susceptible, sometimes dying within months of infection. Signs of disease include discolored leaves, fungal mats or cracks in the bark and dead branches at the tree tops. One way oak wilt disease gets transmitted from an infected tree to a healthy tree is via the Nitidulid beetle, which is attracted to the sweet smell of the fungal mat. The beetle is also attracted to the odor of recently pruned or damaged oaks. When feeding, the beetle picks up spores from the fungal mat and can then transmit the disease over a long distance to a susceptible oak that was recently pruned or damaged. Pruning at the wrong time of year is extremely dangerous for your oaks. Once one tree in a grouping is infected, oak wilt can spread to other nearby trees through their grafted root systems. This is how new oak wilt centers are formed.
Chestnut beetles can also devastate your oaks in a short time. In either case, it's usually too late when you notice dead tree tops. The time to protect your oaks is before infestation. Give me a call if you would like an evaluation of your woodlot. 798-3163 or Jim.Brakken(at)Yahoo.com.
More photos and articles coming soon!
Green Meadow
Wheat Field
Italian River
