Haugen Disease and Insects

Upper Mississippi Floodplain Forest Workshop, September 16, 2015

Linda Haugen, Plant PathologistUSDA Forest Service, Forest Health Protection

St. Paul, Minnesota

USDA Forest Service State and Private ForestryUSDA Forest Service State and Private Forestry

Evaluating Potential Impactsof Diseases and Insects on Bottomland Forests

(in the context of the Upper Mississippi Watershed)

Not all problems are created equal.

Information to help you:• Recognize which are the important threats• ‘Position’ your forests to minimize risk

Examples/points from 4 current threats

Framework

Type of damage Plant part affected

Tree Killer?

Example Likelihood of significant economic or ecological impact

foliage diseases leaves Not usually Tar spot on maple

Not likely

Defoliating insects

leaves Not usually Cottonwood leaf beetle

Not likely

cankers Main stem, branches

variable Nectria canker Variable, depends on level of damage

Stem borers/ bark beetles

Main stem, branches

yes Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)

Likely

root diseases roots yes Armillaria root disease

Likely

wilts Whole tree yes Dutch elm disease

Likely

decay Main stem Not usually Artists’ conk, sulfur conk, etc.

Variable, depends on level of damage

Framework

Foliage diseases Defoliating Insects Canker Diseases Bark Beetles and Borers

Wilt Diseases Root diseases Decay

American Elm Black spot Elm leaf beetle Nectria and other cankers

Elm bark beetles Dutch elm disease

Armillaria [wetwood]

Green Ash, black ash

Anthracnose FTC Emerald Ash Borer

[ash yellows] Perenniporia

Cottonwood Marssonina, Melampsora, etc.

Cottonwood leaf beetle

Maple (Silver, Red, and Boxelder)

Leafspots and anthracnose

Nectria, Eutypella, and other cankers

Asian LonghornedBeetle?

Verticillium Wilt Fomes and others

Willow (black, sandbar, etc.)

Venturia shoot blight

FTC/ gypsy moth Various Armillaria and others

Various

Oak (Swamp White, Pin, etc.)

Anthracnose FTC/ gypsy moth Two-lined chestnut borer

Oak Wilt Armillaria Phellinus, Laetiporus, etc.

River Birch Anthracnose, leaf blight

Black Walnut Anthracnose and other leafspots

Thousand Cankers Disease; Fusariumcanker

Bitternut Hickory

anthracnose Ceratocystiscanker/ Hickory Wilt

Hickory bark beetle

Hackberry Leaf galls

Sycamore Sycamoreanthracnose

Pecan Pecan scab and anthracnose

Big concern Noticeable, but not a big problemSometimes a problem Not significant, or not known

Example: Flood Plain Species

Which problems should you put your

energy into?

Knowns vs. Unknowns

Framework

• Deal with the known, plan for the unknown.

• It helps if you know what is “normal”.• If something seems sinister, check with

the forest health specialists.

Sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know.

ALB

Knowns vs. Unknowns

Framework

Deal with the known, plan for the unknown.

Consequential vs. Inconsequential• Case by case basis, depending on past

history. Need to know the biology.• Is it lethal?• Will it spread?• For some pests, we don’t know.

TCD

Knowns vs. Unknowns

Framework

Deal with the known, plan for the unknown.

Is there anything you can or should do? Again, case by case basis.

Consequential vs. Inconsequential

Manageable vs. Unmanageable

Case by case basis, depending on past history.

Oak Wilt DED

Can we do anything about it?

General guidelines:1. Be careful when moving firewood, outdoor tools,

and nursery stock.2. Monitor for emerging problems.3. Species selection: diversity and site adaptation. 4. Avoid wounding, remove damaged trees during

harvesting. Specific management tools for some pests.

Framework

No management tools for some pests.No control over weather, flooding, and wounding by natural agents.

YE

SN

O

Framework


















FTC/ gypsy moth Various Armillaria and others Various







Bitternut Hickory


Hickory bark beetle






ALB

• Not “here” yet.

• Eats Maple. (And willow and elm.)• Infestations discovered in New York

(1996), then Chicago (eradicated), New Jersey, Massachusetts, and OHIO (2011).

• Eradication is the goal.• Moved in dunnage, woody debris,

firewood… introduced first into industrial areas, and moved in wood waste.

Asian Longhorned Beetle

ALB

large black beetle with white spots, long banded antennae

Adult females chew egg niches in bark, often stay on or near original tree.

Key Signs:

Photo from USDA Forest Service


ALB

3/8” round exit holes

Larvae bore deep into the wood, riddle the wood.



Early detection gives you more options. So be alert.

OW

Oak Wilt

Impacts can be huge:

• Kills valuable trees, hard mast producers.

• Red oaks (pin oak) particularly affected.

• Trees killed quickly–in weeks.

• Spreads overland and through roots.

Photo from Linda Haugen, USDA Forest Service

OW

Overland Cycle establishment of new foci

Underground Cycleexpansion of foci

• Importance of insect vectors

• Conditions for production of mats and pads

• Affected by soil type, species mix, stand history…

OWSo what can you do?

Underground:

• Rupture root connections, vibratory plow.

• Herbicides?

• Fragment your stands.

Overland:

• Season of mgt activity

• Remove potential spore producing trees

• Consider neighbors!

Sometimes it’s not feasible to do anything.

Photo credit: Jenifer Juzwik

Photo credit: Steve Cook

Photo credit: Steve Cook

It can be complicated. You may have different

management choices for the same pest.

You need to understand the biology/ecology.

Thousand Cankers Disease of Black Walnut

• ‘New’ problem. Started ‘out West’ in 1990’s, big problem in Colorado around 2003.

• Walnut twig beetle attacks on branches and bole

• Geosmithia morbida fungus causes a small canker at the WTB attack site.

• “1000’s” of cankers coalesce and progressively kill branches and bole.

TCD

Photo by Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University

Ned Tisserat, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

TCD

• In the EAST, in most places that it has been found, it has been there 15 to 20 years before detected.

• Generally, it has been found in urban areas, on trees under stress.

• One study showed some IMPROVEMENT in condition of affected trees.

• The fungus is associated with WTB, but it has also been isolated from certain WEEVILS. (probably a casual [not CAUSAL] association).

• MANY different beetles and weevils attack stressed walnut. Also other pathogens (e.g. Fusarium).

TCD

Sometimes we don’t know for awhile whether something will

become a big problem.

Dutch Elm Disease/ American ElmDED

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Archive, Bugwood.org

American elm is not gone from our floodplain forests, but it’s role is changed.

Elm “Restoration” in the Upper Mississippi River Watershed and elsewhere.

Dr. Jim Slavicek,Dr. Kathleen KnightDr. Leila PinchotNorthern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio

Chad GiblinGarrett Beier (grad student)

University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

• Pruning/ Urban Utilization• Selection of New American Elm Cultivars– 12+ under evaluation• Understanding of Resistance Mechanisms

• 4 “Wild land” sites• Planted 2005 and 2007• INTENSE protection• 30 to 40 trees per site


DED

DED tolerant American elm:

• Princeton,

• Valley Forge,

• New Harmony,

• R18-2,

• Delaware,

• seedling crosses


Some Dutch elm disease tolerant * cultivars have been identified:

Princeton Highly available yes

Valley Forge (Amer. 3) Moderately to highly available. yes

New Harmony (Amer. 680) Low to moderately available. yes

Lewis & Clark ‘Prairie Expedition’ TM Limited availability

Jefferson (N3487) (triploid) Beginning availability Yes, recently

American Liberty (W502, W503, W505, W507, W510, and M-8)

Only through the Elm Research Institute (ERI).

Independence (W510) Yes, as part of American Liberty

Delaware 2 (Delaware) Not commercial yes

R18-2 Not commercial yes

St. Croix 2015? MN selection

Commercial Availability NRS using?

* Tolerance implies that the tree can become infected by DED, but will usually suffer limited dieback and will survive. Resistance implies that the trees cannot be infected.

How do you test for DED tolerance?• Grow up multiple copies of the same tree (clones).• Let them grow about 8 years to become small trees.• Challenge them with the DED fungus, record how much they die.• Compare that to the response of known DED susceptible

American elms that were grown along with the test trees.

It is a long, arduous process.

“Lessor elms”, being grown up in Ohio for future testing. Photo courtesy of Jim Slavicek.

How do you test for Heritability of DED Tolerance?Much like testing for DED tolerance… you grow up multiple progeny of known crosses, and when they are big enough, you challenge them with the DED fungus.

Data from Slavicek and Knight. 2012. Generation of American Elm Trees with Tolerance to Dutch Elm Disease Through Controlled Crosses and Selection. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr240/psw_gtr240_342.pdf

ONE cross between R18-2 and Valley Forge.

Number of trees (progeny of DED tolerant parents) with progressive categories of foliar symptoms.

Comparison to the foliar symptoms on a known DED susceptible clone.

When challenged with DED, most trees had low (<30%) foliar symptoms

When challenged, all trees had high (>50%) symptoms

Progeny of these DED tolerant parents did very well.

Seed was collected by bucket truck in Spring 2012.

The seed is open-pollinated. One parent is known to be DED tolerant, the second parent is unknown. Since the trees are growing in a cluster of DED tolerant trees, the male parent is likely to also be a DED tolerant elm.

Opportunity: DED tolerance enriched SeedDED tolerant elm trees at a Forest Service

research site in Delaware, Ohio.survived inoculation with the

DED fungus, and are now producing seed.

Taking Advantage of an Opportunity

“Enriched vs Local” Is this seed really any better than local seed on the landscape?

“Operational Trials”We don’t have any experience growing American elm on an operational basis. If we are eventually able to get a good supply of suitable American elm, we need information on how to successfully grow it.

USFS NRSKathleen Knight, Jim Slavicek

USFS SPFO:Linda Haugen

USFS Region 9Paul Berrang, Toumey Nursery, Oconto River Seed Orchard

Army Corps of Engineers:Randy Urich, Bobby Jackson

Enriched vs Local Container grown:

Toumey nursery

2 localities ORSO and Trimbelle

Over 640 seedlings/site11 treatments (7 enriched,2 local, tolerant control,

susceptible control), 8-9 blocks/site

Outplanted in 2014

Grow for 8 years, then challenge with Ophiostoma novo-ulmi.

The Trimbelle site, right after planting.When everything was nice and neat.


“Enriched vs Local” Is this seed really any better than local seed on the landscape?

We need this information before we “deploy” large numbers of seedlings.

Wisconsin DNR:Wilson nursery, BoscabelGreg Edge, Gary Zielske, Nick Koltz

Army Corps of Engineers:Randy Urich, Bobby Jackson

Iowa DNR:Bob Honeywell

Minnesota DNR:Chad Gelner

Southwest Badger RC&D:Patrick Dayton

Operational TrialsPublic Lands Partners

Bare root, Wilson nursery

Outplanted 2013, 2014

• Bare root at Wilson State Forest Nursery, Boscabel, Wisconsin.

• Seed collected and sown spring 2012; 1st batch (1-0) lifted spring 2013.

• Some seedlings held over to produce 2-0 stock in 2014, plus more seed was sown in 2013*.

• Funded by partner purchase of seedlings for planting on their sites.

*2013 sowing failed due to sowing and field conditions, so we only had 2-0 stock for planting in 2014. The seed in storage was tested and is still viable for future sowing.

Nursery Propagation:

Representative elm seedlings in fall 2012, after spring 2012 sowing.

Operational Trial Objectives:

• Compare different elm seedling sizes – what’s more plantable, what survives best (e.g. 1-0, 2-0 pruned, 2-0 not pruned).

• Compare how elm performance varies over different sites / situations (e.g. gaps of different sizes, underplanting, open islands, different silvicultural situations).

• Compare performance of planted elms to other species of planted tree seedlings grown together on the site.

• As elms get old enough, compare DED incidence in the different sites / situations.

Operational Trials Site detailsAgency Site name year planted Description of location, details of site and planting

ACoE

Pool 3 / Gores (Goodhue County)

June 2013, flooded 2 weeks after planting

Southeast of Hastings, on the Mississippi bottoms. North of "North Lake Public Access".56 acres site with 3 harvest treatments: shelterwood (4 acres), group selection (2 acres) and clearcut (16 acres). Cut in 2012. Planted 1600 elm seedlings, with swamp white oak and black walnut. Planted in June, then flooded again for 2 weeks.

WiDNR

Pine Creek (Pierce County)

late May 2013AndSpring 2014

Pierce County Fisheries area, floodplain along a restored trout stream 4 acres cleared and seeded with rye during a trout stream restoration project. 550 elm planted together with 700 swamp white oak, 700 bur oak, and 700 black walnut. Treated with Plant Skydd to discourage deer browse, herbicide treated between rows. 300 more 2-0 elms planted in 2014, with walnut, BO, and SWO.

MnDNREggleston (Red Wing)

Late July 2013

Mississippi bottoms, between Hastings and Red Wing.Group selection harvest. Small openings. Seedlings planted in blocks of 100. Was flooded until July. 750 Elms kept in cooler until July, planted very late. Site flooded again in 2014.

WiDNRCoon Valley June 2013

In the floodplain along Coon Creek fisheries area, near town of Coon Valley.200 elm seedlings, interplanted with swamp white oak. Treated with Plant Skydd to discourage deer browse.

IaDNRLittle Paint Creek

May 2013; flash flooded in June

Upper end of Little Paint Campground area.Adjacent to Little Paint Creek on a retired crop field with Arenzvil-Volney soils. Food plot openings. 375 elm seedlings, interplanted with swamp white oak and river birch.

WiDNRAvon Bottoms 2014

In wildlife refuge along Sugar River.800 2-0 elm planted, along with (thousands of) River Birch, Swamp White Oak, and Sycamore.

ACoE

Trimbelle(Pierce County) 2014

Along Trimbelle River, between River Falls and Ellsworth, Wi.Field with reforestation lanes, 825 elm seedlings. Interplant with hackberry and swamp white oak.

• Planted elm trees marked with blue on each site. • Rows clearly marked, with row ends and

perimeter GPS recorded.• “Map” (planting diagram) made of each site.

Elms numbered for later “tally”.

Monumenting / Documentation

Pine Creek Fishery– May 2013


Pine Creek Fishery– June 2013


Pine Creek Fishery– July 2014Additional area planted 2014


Coon Valley– July 2014Planted in 2013


Yellow River State Forest–July 2013Planted in Spring 2013

Photo from Linda Haugen USDA Forest Service

Minnesota DNR Eggleston Site, July 2013 Photo from Linda Haugen, USDA Forest Service

ACoE Gores (Pool 3) site, August 2013


Sometimes our options change. We hope to have American elms back in the

toolbox again some day.(But we don’t have anything ready for “restoration” use…

… yet.)

Framework


















FTC/ gypsy moth Various Armillaria and others Various







Bitternut Hickory


Hickory bark beetle






http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/fmg/nfmg/bl_hardwood/

Documents

Haugen Disease and Insects