Pest Can Be Lethal To Pine Trees
Pinewood Nematode Attacks, Plugs Tree Pores
POSTED: Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The latest menace to trees may leave homeowners wondering what will be left of their landscaping.
As if Dutch elm and the emerald ash borer haven't been devastating enough to trees, a pest called the pinewood nematode is expected to be lethal for mature pine trees this year, Local 4 reported.
The pinewood nematode creates pine wilt. Mike Barger, of Mike's Tree Surgeons in Troy, said it is a microscopic worm that attacks and plugs up the pores from the tree. The tree essentially starves to death, Local 4 reported.
For residents who live in Franklin, Southfield, Farmington or surrounding communities with sandy soil, Scotch and Austrian pines become particularly susceptible because of drought stress.
The disease is 100 percent fatal to trees, Local 4 reported. The trees will appear as if they were shot by a BB gun.
Barger said there are a lot of trees affected this year.
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