The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Ask The Forester => Topic started by: burt123 on February 07, 2018, 12:53:57 PM
We are having our Southern Red Oaks in this area dying at a rapid pace due to some sort of fungus attacking the root system. Any suggestions as to the best lumber sizes/lengths to salvage from the logs? Otherwise it is a terrible waste of good heartwood other than for firewood.
Welcome Burt what area are you located?
possibly it is oak wilt. uphere in wisconsin we have it.just about impossible to stop.mostly in the red oak.20 acre woods in 2 years took out 27 cord {loggers}of wood dead .suposed to cut late fall to early spring to prevent spreading.lot of firewood but keep some for sawing.sorry good luck.
Oak wilt is impossible to stop with a chainsaw. The fungus moves through the root systems of adjacent trees and due to stump sprouting the roots will almost certainly remain alive for the fungus to move past the edge of where you stopped cutting. Your local DNR office may have contacts for contractors with the proper equipment to sever the root grafts....but it'll cost more than $2-3/linear foot to install the plow lines :).
You can also pop the stumps with backhoe but again, you need someone who knows how to identify the disease and place the lines to increase the likelihood that it will stop expanding due to underground spread. Limit wounds in the spring and early summer to decrease overland spread.
Oak wilt doesn't mess around and can really degrade a stand's value in short order
Regarding the S. Red Oaks, depending on where you are located it could be oak wilt, but as samandothers pointed out we need to know where you are for any shot of helping
I am in Western NC.
Drought really hurts southern red oaks, more so than most other oaks, making them weak and more susceptible to fungal born wilts and rots. Hypoxylon canker is one of the most common fungal diseases that kill southern red oaks.
Hypoxylon Dieback of Oaks (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/diseases/cankers/hypoxylon-dieback-of-oaks.aspx)