The Forestry Forum

The white oaks have  brown crusty stuff on the bottom of the leaves and brown spots on the top. They seem to be on their death bed.  I am wondering if it is oak wilt ?  Will it kill them ?  I have many, as in hundred +. Don't seem to be bothering any other trees.

Oak wilt tends to hit red oaks before white. The leaves will start to die off from the crown and tips of the branched. Leaves will have a yellow area around the veins that eventually covers the whole leaf. Got any pics? You're not far from me at all. I haven't heard of the wilt being in our area yet and I hope it hasn't made it here yet. It can devastate the oaks.  

 A little digging tells me oak wilts has been identified in AR in the past but no new reports in many years. 

However, records of oak wilt occurrence in some counties are very old, and the lack of more recent detections suggests that the disease may no longer be present in some previously "positive" counties in Arkansas and Oklahoma 

A few years ago I had what I thought was a very healthy white oak die on the vine .Around August the leaves just fell off .It was 3 feet on the stump and 100 feet tall .What it died of I have no idea but none of the other oaks have been affected .I got around 60 feet of clear saw long and a cord and half ,two cords of fire wood.
The logs are cribbed off the ground and end sealed with roofing tar .A lot of good lumber if I ever get my bandsaw built which has been a very slow process .I have no intention of carving out lumber with a chainsaw .It's okay for somebody else but doesn't appeal to me at all .

Could it be a fungus? With all the rain in the midwest, I wouldn't be surprised.