fusiform rust on longleaf pines

[caveman]

Last week, while in Live Oak, Florida for an FFA land judging contest, I saw longleaf pines with fusiform rust on them.  This struck me as odd since I've never previously seen longleaf pines with fusiform.  These trees were about 25 years old and a lot of them needed to be culled due to poor form.  I started looking around a bit and noticed that several of them had rust.  The loblolly pines in the area also had fusiform rust.

I have seen slash and loblolly with fusiform many times but this was a first for longleaf.  After reading a bit this morning, longleaf is supposed to be highly resistant to fusiform but evidently, they can still be susceptible.  


 

 

[Texas Ranger]

Unusual, but nature being nature anything can happen.  Best I can come up with is thar genetics may have slipped a little.  Would be interesting to know if it was a natural stand (suspect it is) or planted stock.

There is a cross of loblolly and long leaf called Sonderegger where the genetics could be more on the lob side.

[caveman]

These were planted.  They did not look like they had any characteristics of loblolly to me.  A lot of these trees had forks, misshapen tops, whorls of branches low on the stem, and a host of other things that would make them candidates for culling at the next thinning.  I commented to one of my recently retired teacher friends, that this would be a great stand to do a TSI exercise on.  To thin this one right, it would not be an every other or third row harvest, but rather analyze each tree and leave only the best and kill the rest (in my opinion).

I did read that shortleaf pine can also get fusiform although it is rare.

[customsawyer]

I would like to get a actual age of those trees. I would bet they are older than you think. The seeds or seedlings probably came from the same couple of poor parent trees way back in the day.

[SwampDonkey]

Years ago, someone got the idea to bring Scots Pine over here. Trouble was the stock they chose the seed from was growing on the poorest of soils and high elevation and the resulting seedlings were the poorest of poor of any pine you've seen. And that poor stock was widely planted. It is also very susceptible to insects such as weevils. I believe there is a fungus to because a whole grove will turn yellow and die. Everyone one of them should be cut and burned anyway. :D

From what I have seen of jack pine plantations they don't fare all that well either. I've seen them get to about 50 feet and die off. Usually by then they have about 4 lives limbs left up high, not going to do much growing in that shape. And a lot are as crooked as rams horns. In natural stands after fire they are straight as an arrow and make good lumber. Not that plantation stuff. Irvings planted a lot in areas they never grew natural and after one of those hurricanes 10 years ago they pretty much mowed them all down and planted spruce since. 100's of acres in Deersdale area.

[caveman]

I would like to get a actual age of those trees.

The land owner was pretty proud of his cattle farm and the trees, which were on the other side of the fence from his pasture.  He actually sold the land the trees were on to his brother, but I vaguely remember him saying they planted them 25-27 years ago.  I made the comment to a friend that that (Tom) stand of trees needed to be euthanized.  Longleaf are usually some of my favorite trees.

[Don P]

That's interesting on the Scots pine. There is still a sorry plantation neartby, not sure why they were left, it is trash. I had been told they were a failed experiment, that they just don't do well in the new world.