Suden Oak Death Syndrome (SODS)

[tmullen]

 Does anyone have information on what the avarege land owner can do to help stop the spread of SODS. ???
My Dad has 30 acres of great redwood timber in Santa Cruz county in California and has lost about 75% of the tan oak on his place and the adjacent land owners are in the same boat. :'( The only info I have found is about the disease but not what to do to prevent the loss of the last 25% of the oak on my dads place. We have been cutting and burning the dead trees for four years now and now he is only loosing about a dozen trees a year and new ones are coming in but the hole left in the hardwoods is huge. Any info on if we have been doing the right or wrong thing would be great.

[solodan]

You know, I don't think you will find much information about what to do. This is a relativly new disease and  little is known  :-\. It affects trees other than oaks, and actually affects alot of the species that you would find in our area. However it does not seem to be infecting any areas in the U.S. other than the coastal  redwood forests. The pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum is responsible for the disease, so controlling that would probably be the answer. How do you control fungus like organisms? Take away the conditions needed to thrive. My guess would be to let some light in to the forest floor, something that is very scarce in a redwood forrest. Yes, this means thining the redwoods. something not easily accomplised in California, especially Santa Cruz County, where the desease was first reported. The pathogen is also found in Germany and Denmark, I would look for some answers there. I would think that the pathogen there is also found in dark wet forests. Let us know what you dig up, as this subject should be important to everyone on the east coast as well, since northern pin oak (Quercus palustris) and northern red oak (Quercus rubra), are highly susceptible to the disease when inoculated with the pathogen.

[Ron Scott]

Ditto! to what Solodan stated. New and deadly in the California Area. Keep in contact with your local Extension Service, Forest Health Specialists, etc. should some workable local controls and prevention be discovered.

[tmullen]

 I have been searching for a way to help slow the spread of this to no availe. I had met with the CDF forester last year out at my pops place to discus how to deal with SODS and she told me to log the place but Curantly I can't do that in Santa Cruz county since they have a moratorium on logging in the san lorenzo river water shed. I have come to my wits end to help my dad. The guy bought the property in the early fifteys and now is watching his timber die. The CDF forester told us it was only a matter of time before the spores started to harm the redwood and madrone but no one has a clue how to deal with this in that stinkin dot com county.

I will try the net as you said looking for what others have found in other countries.

It's crazy to see trees that were heathy in one month be dead the next. From what I have found is that the spores came from rodedendrone plant from aisia.

On the other note when the coastal hills get the right conditions I will make some good overtime when the coasties burn! (just not my folks place) :D :D

[jon12345]

This may be helpful at least in explaining things

http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf/

Will lead you to a page of links, including a list of all the different hosts.

[Frank_Pender]

You might consider a lawsuit in the form of taking, that prevents you from harvesing and protecting what trees can be protected.

[Texas Ranger]

wonder if it is similar to oak wilt that we have in Texas.  Spreads by root grafting in some soils.  Trench at drip line to cut grafts and isolate trees.  Of course, in a wooded situation that would not be practical, but it seems to work, for a while, on urban/suburban trees.

[rebocardo]

> We have been cutting and burning the dead trees for four years now

If they are spores, which are pretty hardy, could this actually spread them in the smoke in unburnt bark and ash caught in the updraft?

[JJackson]

There's some beautiful land around Santa Cruz and its all worth a heck of a lot of money.  Lived in Monterey up until the end of 03, and saw many tan oaks die in Big Sur and Santa Cruz very rapidly.  I sure kept us busy patrolling the high voltage lines.

[getoverit]

I dont know if this will help or not, but here goes:

In the Southeast of the country, we have a fungus that attacks all species of trees, shrubs, and almost any plant that has a bark on it's stem. If left untreated, it will kill grown trees, usually starting with a large limb at a time and continuing until the whole tree is dead.

To kill the fungus is easy. We use a copper sulphate solution in water. This stuff also kills the spanish moss in trees, which wont kill the tree but is messy to have around in the yard.

here is a link to get ya started on just some of the uses for this solution in trees: http://www.copper.org/applications/compounds/table_b.html

I know California has a lot of stupid environmental laws as to what can be used and what cant, but if you're willing to try some of this I can hook you up with enough to do a test run of it. If what you have is a fungus killing the trees, this should knock it out.

[Stephen_Wiley]

To those contemplating this topic;

This pathogen is by far the most aggressive fungus observed to date. The parent strain has not been id'd.  Two daughter strains of which one is here in CA and OR the other is in Europe.

Research areas have minimal amount of qualified staff allowed to visit infected sites here in Oregon.  (mainly 2 state forest pathologists, 3 state agricultural along with a few chosen CA personnel ) Because CA has 18 different jurisdictions a 'lax' attitude of containment previously has caused federal intervention.

Translocation is not fully understood, and does not transfer as other Phytopthora spp.

BE VERY Careful in excepting 'remedies' proclaiming to fight this pathogen as access to and movement of infected plants is restricted.

I have observed innoculation studies which showed innoculation by zoosphores on a leaf sample to cause necrosis in only a matter of minutes.

[Frank_Pender]

Welcome back to the Forum, Stephen.  8) 8) 8) 8)   I was beginning to believe you fell  over the Falls at the State Park, out your way.    :'( :'( :D

[BlaBla]

I believe I read of a fungicide that has successfully prevented SOD in treated trees, but has no effect upon diseased trees. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I'll look and see if I can find the link.

[BlaBla]

http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/comtf/html/about_p__ramorum.html site at 10/03 it says, "The systematic fungicide AGRI_FOS (R) and Pentra Bark suffactant are approved by the California Department of Pesticide REgulation to treat individual oak and tanoak trees at high-risk of contracting P. ramorum."

A similar approval in Oregon is on the Chronology at 11/04 but it has a note about restrictions in California.

Anybody know anything about the success of these fungicides? I guessing they're not feasible since they're not widely used two years later, but what happened?

[Stephen_Wiley]

Hey Frank,

Nope, I did not take the 'trip' over the falls yet!

Hope to get out your way again.........have some collage's I made of your place many months ago hoping to show you (for a laugh).

Blabla,

Enjoyed the url, (have'nt looked at for awhile).  Will try to get more info from those actually doing the research.

[Frank_Pender]

Stephen, I know the "Cow College" has some sort of special team working on the issue.  I do not know who or what they call themselves.  I have a meeting with the Oregon Small Woodlots Association board of directors on Friday.  I will try and remember to ask while there.

  I look forward to seeing you, in the near future.

[tmullen]

 Thanks to all for the information, it has helped me explain the situation to my Dad a little better.
The pesticide or whatever that stuff is , is not realy an option since we would need to use a cropduster to spray the stuff. After spending many hours on the net researching the one thing that stands out is that the government continues to throw money into research but has not come up with an answer to treat the disease. It seems like the disease has slowed it's spread some in the last two years. Frank has the courantine in OR been sucsesfull in containing the spread, the web site had no ubdate on whats happining in OR.

Thanks Again for the Help

[Frank_Pender]

I did here of an outbreak on the other side of the State, in as county that borders ther Comumbia River.  The nursery was put in quaratine and I believe all of their plants were burned.  I have not heard of any other outbreaks in the Willamette Valley area, since.