SREF's Forest Health Program Releases Fact Sheets on Chinese Tallowtree and Laurel Wilt
December, 2016 - Southern Regional Extension Forestry's Forest Health and Invasive Species Outreach and Education program (FHIS) recently released two new fact sheets to arm Extension professionals with the latest information on invasive threats and frustrating fungi: Chinese Tallowtree Biology and Management in Southeastern U.S. Forests and Biology, Ecology, and Management of Laurel Wilt and the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle.
Since its well-intentioned introduction in 1776 by Benjamin Franklin, Chinese tallowtree has become arguably the most damaging invasive tree species in the southeastern U.S. Chinese Tallowtree Biology and Management in Southeastern U.S. Forests, a collaboration between faculty at Clemson University, Auburn University, USDA ARS, and Southern Regional Extension Forestry, provides landowners with a full background on the tree's biology and offers management solutions to curb its spread.
Laurel wilt is caused by Raffaelea lauricola, a fungal pathogen native to Asia and transmitted by the ambrosia beetle Xyleborus glabratus. This disease impacts several trees in the family Lauraceae, including redbay, sassafras, pondspice, bay laurel, and avocado. Extensive mortality to redbay has occurred in coastal areas from North Carolina to Mississippi. Forest health professionals at the University of Florida and Southern Regional Extension Forestry wrote Biology, Ecology, and Management of Laurel Wilt and the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle to offer management solutions to landowners and forest managers in the southeastern US, which include sanitation (chipping, burning) of infested material, and chemical treatments, which may be effective for high value trees
ABOUT THE FHIS OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAM
The FHIS program, created as a partnership between Southern Regional Extension Forestry and the US Forest Service under the direction of Dr. David Coyle, curates and creates forest health materials and curriculum focused on the southeastern US to ensure consistent education among state and local Extension agents, state and local forestry agency professionals, and others who are responsible for forest health education in the southeastern region. Follow Dr. Coyle on twitter at @drdavidcoyle and the FHIS on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/southernforesthealth/.