Keep deadly tree disease out of South Somerset

AN appeal has gone out for people in the Yeovil and surrounding area to volunteer to help try and keep a deadly fungal tree diesease out of South Somerset.   

The disease, known as Chalara fraxinea, has been making headline news lately, as it has already devastated the Ash tree population across many parts of Europe. The Forestry Commission are treating the threat as a “quarantine” plant pathogen which means they can use emergency powers to eradicate it by burning where it is found.
 
In the largest operation ever of its kind, hundreds of Forestry Commission staff and other stakeholders have surveyed England, Wales and Scotland.

So far, the disease has been confirmed at 115 sites across nine English counties - Kent, Norfolk, Essex, Sussex, Berkshire, Bedfordshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Northumberland. With the last stages of Autumn, the opportunity for spotting the foliar symptoms is now coming to an end.
 
If you would like to help, members of the public can view helpful symptom-diagnosis guidance which is available at: www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara.

If you  think you have found infected trees, please report them directly to the Forestry Commission on 0131 314 6414.  Alternatively, those with a smart phone can download a free app with which you can send photos & locations of siting’s direct.
 
The scientific communities understanding of the disease is evolving on a daily basis.  It was earlier thought that young Ash trees imported from Europe were primarily responsible for spreading the disease, but the findings also indicate that the disease is also present within mature trees and woodlands.

The latest is as follows:
 
* Spore dispersal on the wind is possible from mainland Europe.
* The spores are unlikely to survive for more than a few days.
* Trees need a high dose of spores to become infected.
* The spores are produced from infected dead leaves during the months of June to September.
* There is a low probability of dispersal on clothing or animals and birds.
* The disease will attack any species of ash.
* The disease becomes obvious in trees within months rather than years.
* Wood products would not spread the disease if treated properly.
* Once infected, trees can’t be cured.
* Not all trees die of the infection, and some are likely to have genetic resistance.
 
Whilst the Government is doing what it can, South Somerset District Council has been working with staff and a volunteer network of over 106 tree wardens, appointed by parish and town councils across the district, to be on the alert.

The  resilience to epidemics is also being improved, by endeavours to plant lots of healthy young trees, well suited to their environment and with a broad range of genetic and species-diversity.

Cllr Jo Roundell-Greene, the council's environment and economic development spokesman, said: “Chalara fraxinea is a highly infectious disease in the ash tree population. We want to keep it out of South Somerset.

''Please be vigilant in looking for symptoms of the disease; in your gardens and when you are out and about.  We have thousands of ash trees in South Somerset and to lose them would be devastating changing our countryside for many years to come.”

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