Watching for the Spread of Sudden Oak Death in the US Southeast

Officials are asking residents in the southeastern US to be on the look out for signs of sudden oak death in camellias, rhododendrons and other ornamentals. The disease arrived in the region last year in shipments of ornamentals from nurseries in California and Oregon. Officials destroyed some of the shipments after finding the disease, but most had already been sold. Since sudden oak death was first discovered in California in 1995, it has killed thousands of native oak trees in the state.

US Forest Service officials fear the wind blown spores may infect the native oaks in eastern forests. No one knows how susceptible the native trees will be or how the pathogen will respond to the climate. Climate conditions in areas of Appalachia are similar to the west coast where the disease is widespread. Since oaks make up a large portion of the harvest, sudden oak death is a great concern to the Southeast’s forest industry.

Links:

• Officials fear spread of ‘Sudden Oak Death’ from CTV.CA



• California Oak Mortality Task Force" a nonprofit organization, under the California Forest Pest Council, formed to address Phytophthora ramorum-related issues



• Phytophthora ramorum information on the pathogen from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:04 PM on May 19, 2005

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