Ash tree disease has become a major botanical problem. Ash trees, a favorite of low maintenance landscaping enthusiasts, are a prevalent flora serving as an important source of food for both birds and mammals. Ash trees fill in gaps common to forested areas and are a terrific choice for urban tree planting because they only require low maintenance landscaping. Sadly, there is one serious drawback to cultivating ash trees. That drawback is the growing trend of adult emerald ash borer infestations gripping the area.
Ash borer control practices need not focus on adult emerald ash borer beetles. The adult beetles do indeed nibble on foliage, but they are relatively harmless. Emerald ash borer treatment protocols should instead concentrate on larvae. The ash borer larvae are milky white in color and are found beneath the bark of ash trees. They are not obvious to the naked eye, which makes an infestation difficult to spot until it is too late. When bark is stripped from the ash tree, the expanding S shaped galleries of the ash borer are revealed. Unfortunately, by the time this happens, it is usually to late to save the trees, making their status as low maintenance landscaping greenery a moot point. The majority of ash trees will perish within 2 to 4 years of being infested by emerald ash borers.
How in the world did the emerald ash borer, the origin of which is Asia and Eastern Russia, make its way to the U.S. where is has wiped out the favorite arbor of low maintenance landscaping devotees? One theory is that these pests came over to America via solid wood packing material carried in airplanes and cargo ships that came over from China. When the ash borer is removed from its native region where the ecological structure maintains its numbers at reasonable levels, the emerald ash borer becomes an invasive species. If we in this country wish to hang on to our beloved low maintenance landscaping ash trees, we must be more aggressive at rooting out these pests. Otherwise, we will have to bid farewell to the ash tree in all of its low maintenance landscaping splendor for good. Helpful links: www.kinnucan.com
Emerald Ash Borers decimated a beautiful grove of ash tress on the farm my uncle owns. It was utterly heartbreaking. He loved those trees, and I have never seen him so forlorn as when he lost them.
Emerald Ash Borers decimated a beautiful grove of ash tress on the farm my uncle owns. It was utterly heartbreaking. He loved those trees, and I have never seen him so forlorn as when he lost them.