TheOakWiltSuppressionProjectandTFSPractices&Protocols

ISA‐Texas Oak Wilt Qualification Workshop – Belton, Texas

10‐May‐2018

RobertEdmonsonBiologistIII,CertifiedArborist

1

“TheoverallgoaloftheTexasA&MForestService’sCooperativeOakWiltSuppressionProjectistominimizethespreadofoak

wilt(Bretziellafagacearum)incentralTexas.”1) Providepublicawarenessandeducationaboutthe

disease

2) Identifyandmapmortalitycenterswithgroundverificationofoakwilt

3) Providetreatmentrecommendationsandcost‐shares(whenapplicable)toprivatelandowners

4) Conductpostsuppressionevaluationsoncost‐sharedtreatmentstodetermineefficacy

5) Establishandmaintaindetailedandaccuraterecords

OakWiltSuppressionProject

OakWiltResources

TexasOakWiltInformationPartnershipwebsite:

http://texasoakwilt.org

TexasA&MForestServicewebsite:http://tfsweb.tamu.edu

HowToIdentifyandManageOakWiltinTexasbrochure

OakWiltOccurrenceinTexas

Verifiedbylabsamples,aerialdetection,andon‐site

inspections

Confirmed in 76 central and west Texas

counties

OakWiltOccurrenceintheUS

Cost SharesCost-shares, disbursed through the Oak Wilt Suppression Project, may be

available to private landowners for the following efforts:

Containment trenching around oak wilt centers

Pushing or rouging all oaks within the boundaries of cost-shared trenches

Removal of diseased red oaks in urban areas

Trenching cost-shares consist of 40% of actual costs not to exceed $1000.00 per individual per year with a maximum of $3,000.00 per project per year.

Red oak removal cost-shares consist of 40% of actual costs not to exceed $500.00 per cooperator per year.

ItemsNOT eligibleforcost‐sharesinclude:

1)Removalofdeadtrees

2)Trenchingaroundhealthystandsoftrees

3)Secondarytrenches

4)Engineeringcharges,consultingfeesorpermitfees

5)Lossorreductioninrevenuesfromtheland

6)Stumpgrinding

7)Fungicidetreatments

8)Replantingorlandscaping

Cost‐Shares

1)Completecontainmentofthediseasecenter(naturallandfeaturesandexistingundergroundinfrastructurecanbeusedinselectcases)

2)Relativeisolationofthediseasecenter

3)Highpotentialoffungalmatformation(redoaks)

4)CompliancewithCulturalResourcesPreservationAct

Thefollowingcriteriamust bemetinordertoqualifyforcost‐shares:

Cost‐Shares

Cost‐ShareApplication

TreatmentPlan

CulturalResourcesSurveyForm

TARLRecordsCheck

TreatmentMaps

GeneralLocationMap

UndergroundUtilityWaiver

CulturalResourcesAcknowledgementForm

W‐9TaxIdentificationForm

Aswithallcost‐shareprograms,thereisanapplicationprocess

Cost‐Shares

TrenchingAccomplishments

1988‐ 2015

2877CentersTrenched

4,008,000Feet(762miles)TrenchesInstalled

$2,980,449.00DistributedCost‐Shares

$7,899,305.00TotalCosts

74%TrenchingSuccess

OakWiltSuppressionProject

OakWiltSuppressionProject

ProjectObstacles

Nostate‐mandatedfunding

Smallfieldstaffforhugeproblem

Increasingpopulation

Demandforstaff’stimefromotherprograms

Costoftrenchinghastripledsince1990

OakWiltManagementEarlydetectionandpromptactionareessentialfor

successfulmanagementofoakwilt

Therearefourprimaryapproachesusedtomanageoakwilt:

Thesemeasureswillnotcure oakwiltbutcansignificantlyreducetreelosses

1) Prevention

3) Trenching

4) Fungicide Injections

2) Diversity Plantings

Purpose:

Topreventnewoakwiltinfectionsfromoccurringthroughpruningmanagement,diseasedredoakcontrol(cost‐shareable)and

firewoodmanagement

Prevention

Prevention

Fungalmatsareproducedinthespring;

therefore,avoidwoundingoaksfromFebruarythroughJune.

Regardlessofseason,immediately paintallpruningcutsandotherwoundstooaks.Thisdiscouragescontaminated

sap‐feedingbeetlesfromvisitingthesewoundsand

introducingtheoakwiltfungusintothesetrees.

DestroyinfectedRed oakstopreventfungalmatformation.

DonotsalvageinfectedRed oaksforfirewood!

Prevention

Prevention

Transportanduseonlydry,well‐seasonedfirewood

Leaveunseasonedwoodonsiteoneyear/summerbefore

moving

Donotstoreinfectedwoodnearhealthytrees

Coverwoodwithclearplasticandburytheedgestopreventinsectsfromleavingthepile

Purpose:

Toreducetheeffectsofoakwiltbycreatingspeciesdiversityinthelandscapethroughsupplemental

plantings

TreePlanting

Planting

Selecttreesthatarenativeoradaptedtotheregion

Selecttreesthatareresistantorimmunetooakwilt

Avoidplantingmonocultures;creatediversityinthe

landscape

Avoidwoundingoaksduringplanting

Americansmoketree

baldcypress

bigtoothmaple

blackcherry

buroak

Carolinabuckthorn

cedarelm

chinquapinoak

Eve’snecklacepod

greenash

Laceyoak

littlewalnut

littleleafleadtree

mescalbean

Mexicanbuckeye

Mexicanplum

MXorTXredbud

netleafwhiteoak

pecan

Texasash

Texascrabapple

westernsoapberry

SomeRecommendedTrees

CentralTexasRestorationandRecoveryProgram

WestTexasNursery

http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/WestTexasNursery/

TFSTreePlantingResources

Purpose:

Tohaltthelocalizedspreadingoftheoakwiltfungusthroughinterconnectedrootsystemsbymechanicallyseveringtheseconnections,thusprovidingaphysicalbarriertothefungus(cost‐shareable)

Trenching

Trenching

Trenchesmustbeplacedaminimum of100feetaheadofthediseaseanddugatleast4feetdeep(sometimesdeeper)toseverallrootconnections

DiseasedTree

HealthyTree

Trench

100’ minimum

Determinethediseaseperimeterusingvisualsymptoms(patternofmortality,leafsymptoms,etc.)

Locatethetrenchataminimumof100feetfromthediseaseperimeter(measuredfromthedripline,nottrunks)

Makeanynecessaryadjustmentsforutilities,fences,roads,etc.

100’ minimum

Trenching

Equipmentchoiceshouldbebasedonsitecharacteristics(soildepth,substrate,terrain,etc.)andnotsolelyonmeetingminimumdepthrequirements.

Trenching

Installthetrenchtoaminimumdepthoffourfeet.Adjustmentsmaybenecessaryifsignificanttimehaspassedsinceinitialtrenchlayout.

Trenching

Backfillthetrenchusingthesamesoil.Pushingalloakswithinthebarriermayimprovetrencheffectiveness.

Trenching

Thediseaseshouldprogresstothebarrierwithin2‐ 4years.

Repeatproceduresifabreakoutoccurs.

Monitorforbreakouts

Trenching

Purpose:

Topreventorhalttheinvasionoftheoakwiltfungusthroughoutthewater

conductingvesselsofoaksbyintroducingaspecificfungicideintothesetissues,thuskeepingthesetissuesopenandfunctional

Injection

Injectionisusedtoprotecthigh‐valueoaksinadvanceofanexpandingoakwiltcenter

Thebestcandidatesfortreatmentsarehealthyornon‐symptomaticliveoakswithin50’to150’fromsymptomatictrees

Injectiondoesnot stoproottransmissionofthefungus!

Injection

Injection

Successdependsuponthehealthofthetree,applicationrate,andpossiblythe

injectiontechnique.

InjectionSeveralproductsarecurrentlylabeledandregisteredforthis

treatment;however,macro‐injectionsofAlamo®havebeenscientificallyproven effectiveandcontinuetobetheindustryandTFSstandard.

OtherProductsandMethods

Tebuject

CriteriaforSuccessfulInjectionsReliableVerifiabledocumentationofresearchresultsMustincreasesurvivaloftreatedtreesovernaturalpopulationSafeEconomicalReasonablyeasytoapplyLegaltouse!

Measuretreetodeterminedosage

Measurediameterat4.5’fromtheground

Circ.”/3=diameter”(approximately)

Injection

Exposetherootflare

Fungicidedistributionismaximizedby

treatingintheflare

Injection

Varioustoolsandmethodscanbe

usedtoaccomplishthistask

Injection

Barkisthinnerbelowthesoilline

Increasesthenumberofpotentialinjectionsites

Spreadsoutthewounding,especiallyiffutureinjectionsareneeded

Researchhasdemonstratedsuperiordistributionofthefungicideinthetree

RootFlareInjectionAdvantages

Drillholesevery4”to6”alongtheflarerootsallthewayaroundthe

tree

Injection

Attachtheharness

Injection

Mixfungicidesolution

10‐20mloffungicideper1”trunkdiameterin1literofwaterper1”trunkdiameter

Injection

Aswithflarerootexcavation,various

methodsandequipmentcanbeusedtoachievethesame

results

Injection

Pressurizethesystemto15‐25psi

Injection

Bleedallairoutoftheharness…

…andclosethesystem

Injection

Checkforandrectifyleaks

Injection

Monitorforleaks,dropsinairpressure,blowntees,

etc.andadjustasnecessary

Injection

Dowhateverelseyoudeemnecessarytoincreaseyourchancesofsuccess…

…suchasblessingtheharness…

Injection

…orcallinginthemarines

Injection

So,howmanyAggiesdoesittaketotreata

tree?

Injection

Questions

ThankYou!

RobertEdmonson

BiologistIII/CertifiedArborist

TexasA&MForestService