The trees in your yard provide shade, better air quality, and beauty to you and your family. Finding that one of your trees is dying can be disheartening. Knowing the various types of tree disease and how to spot them is important as most of them are contagious and could infect other trees or plants in your yard. Also, if caught in time, many infections or diseases can be treated and avoid having the tree removed.
Here are some of the more common tree infections:
Canker disease. This disease comes in three forms and looks as though the tree has blisters, similar to a cancer sore. This disease commonly infects spruce, pine, willow, and poplar trees. This tree disease is occurs when an open wound on the bark of the tree becomes infected by a fungus or a bacteria.
Heart rot disease. This disease infects deciduous trees including: birch, beech, dogwood, cedar, and maple. And occurs when fungus is able to enter an opened wound through broken branches, pruned incorrectly, or damage due to animals, insects, or fire. Signs of its presence include mushroom or conks growing on the tree.
Powdery Mildew Disease. Most likely to infect linden, crabapple, and chokeberry trees, powdery mildew disease is most common in dry climates. This mildew produces a powdery growth which resembles talcum powder and will attack any vegetation if the conditions are right.
Root Rot Disease. There are three forms of root rot disease and all of them can infect the roots of hardwood trees. This disease manifests as a leathery, black fungus and it spreads from the ground up the trunk of the tree. It may also cause mushrooms to grow in the soil around the bottom of the tree.
Sooty Mold Disease. This disease is most likely to attack tree species where a virulent insect population is present. This mold resembles a black powder and will feed off of the insect carcasses in the tree.
Verticillium Wilt Disease. This disease begins in the soil and is most commonly known to attack stone fruit trees. This disease is especially troublesome because it attacks the tree’s root system and causes the leaves to turn color and wilt.
If you recognize any of these diseases or their symptoms on your trees, make sure to contact a professional to have it investigated. Many of these diseases are contagious and will infect additional plants and trees on your property.
