disease pics

[murphy4trees]

I've been thinking about this thread for awhile... I've been cutting trees for over 20 years and feel ashamed to admit that I have grossly neglected the study of pathology and treatment... learning a new language is not one of my strengths and I choose to stay away from the chemicals... yet, I'd like to have more knowledge and be able to make recommendations for treatment, even if I don't do the work.
I've picked up bits and pieces of info at seminars, reading book and mags, and rubbing elbows, so I have some knowledge and can recognize problems, though I often do not know all their names.
I Am hoping we all can use this forum to learn and share info.
So I invite you all to post your pics of diseased trees.
I'll start... Here's a pic of some mushrooms growing at the base of a large red oak.... I would call that root rot and believe this will eventually cause the tree to fail.... Is there any treatment?? and should I recommend to have the tree drilled by a CA??? or just remove it???
Thanks

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Murph, first try to get a closer pic so a positive ID can be made. It looks like Grifola frondosum but it may be Ganoderma lucidum. Prognosis and treatment of these two are quite different.

On any root rot I like to boost root function by mulching, after inoculating the root zone with a beneficial fungus such as Pisolithus (puffball fungus) which will compete with the pathogen and hopefully displace itor at least slow it down. IMO root rots best have their way in soils that are abused like the site in your pic.

Sinclair's Diseases book has some good pictures and descriptions, Schwarze's Fungal Strategies book goes way beyond and will expand your approach to decay fungi. It's tough to understand in spots but well worth the effort. I reviewed it for the June 2002 Journal of Arb because German science needs more reading here imo. It's worth a look for the pictures alone.

Removing the shrooms is often said ot be useless but when you consider that they can emit billions of spores it seems they should be removed. I put them in the compost pile because after all many mycorrhizal fungi are wood decay fungi too. I'll try to learn how to post pics so we can try to match shrooms and talk strategy. Drilling is not the first diagnostic step to take.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Or it could be some old woodchips that were spread around the base of the tree, begining to rot away.
I know, not as exciting or fatalistic, but possible...

I'd take a trowel/air tool and carefully dig down and look.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by Mike Maas
Or it could be some old woodchips that were spread around the base of the tree, begining to rot away.
I know, not as exciting or fatalistic, but possible...

I'd take a trowel/air tool and carefully dig down and look.

Good point, first find out where they're coming from. Mycelia can be hard to trace, so if they don't seem attached to the tree but are all the shrooms are coming from the direction of major roots as it appears in the pic, well, ya gotta go with the rootrot theory. Plus it doesn't look like that tree has been mulched ever.

Re fatalistic, not necessarily! Fungi can be attacked by the arborist and more importantly by the tree. Decay can be walled off (compartmentalized is such an awkward word), and the fungus can go dormant or yes even die.

A tree that's leaning toward a building with rot on the back side is getting into hazard country. Reduction to lessen the lean and the load on the supporting roots is an option. Preventing abuse from graders, lawnmowers etc that starts the whole problem is of course the first option.

This may be a separate thread, but a leaning tree can get microtears at the base from wind and storms, which can be infection courts for decay fungi. Therefore reduction pruning is a preventive step where this seems likely.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Originally posted by Guy Meilleur
IMO root rots best have their way in soils that are abused like the site in your pic.

You mean like where you can see the tire tracks from the last 30 years of mowing?

 

[treeman218]

Looks like old and faded Laetiporus sp. (chicken of the woods) or Meripilus sp. (black staining polypore) both of which are saprophytic so further investigation is definitely warranted. I'm leaning toward old and faded Laetiporus. Both of these 'shrooms are edible but Laetiporus is definitely one of my favorites.

It is hard to tell from the photo but these two are my best guesses. On the fruiting body to the far left I think that I see a tinge of orange so Laetiporus is my choice. I would agree with Guy M that a closer photo is needed. However it is definitely not Grifola (the ears or lobes of the fruiting body would be smaller and the general outline would be more regular in definition, also it is a bit early in the season) nor is it Ganoderma.

I would suggest looking a bit closer at the tree, good luck. Mike Maas has a good point but it is highly unlikely.

 

[murphy4trees]

Much thanks for the replies and info... I'll post more pics when I get the time..

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

218, how about innoculation with truffle spores?

I used to read a lot about that in alt.agroforestry, though my current service does not get that group anymore.

Some guys say that they can take a backpack sprayer with white truffle spawn and innoculate several acres.

 

[Dan F]

Off the 'shroom topic, but on the topic of posting pics...

You'll find a LOT of info here...
http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/menu.htm

Probably the Botany and Plant Pathology is where you want to start. Also the Entomology section for the bugs. It's all extension pub's so it may be as much for homeowner types as it is for those in the industry...

Another link I've found:
http://www.ipm.msu.edu/landCAT.htm

And I've posted this before in a different section:
http://bluestem.hort.purdue.edu/plant/

Many, many, many hours of reading with these links covering a lot of ground!


Dan