Damaging Oak Disease May be Present in Some Alabama Landscapes
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and state and national forestry officials are concerned that the damaging disease, Ramorum blight or sudden oak death, may have been introduced into some Alabama landscapes. Officials say it is possible homeowners may have purchased some common landscape plants in the last few years that may have been infected with the fungus-like pathogen, Phytopthora ramorum, that causes the disease. Ramorum blight was first seen in the 1990s in oak trees in California and Europe.
In 2004, the disease was discovered in four nurseries in California and Oregon. All diseased plants at these nurseries were destroyed, and all diseased plants that had been shipped to nurseries or retail stores in other states were located and destroyed.
In Alabama, the disease was identified in only two nurseries and one garden shop. These plants were destroyed by officials with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. In all, 22 states found some diseased plants in nurseries or retail garden stores, and, again, all of these plants were destroyed.
Dr. Jackie Mullen, a plant pathologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, says there is concern that some Phytopthora ramorum-infected plants may have been sold before officials were able to visit all the nurseries and garden centers and issue temporary stop sale orders while testing was being done.
Alabama officials do not expect to discover significant occurrence of the disease, because only three positive samples were identified out of 289 samples tested in 2004.
Dr. Austin Hagan, an Extension plant pathologist, says camellias, rhododendrons, pieris, viburnums, mountain laurels and lilacs are some of the common landscape plants that could become infected with this oak disease. These are the common plants that were shipped to Alabama nurseries and garden shops last year from California and Oregon, and symptoms could appear on these plants this spring.
Posted by at April 15, 2005 09:01 AM