As a longstanding SESL Soil Consultant I have seen an emerging seasonal trend in requests for our testing services in the area of urban tree health. The end of winter and beginning of spring leads to nutritional assessment of soil to determine what is required for the coming growing season. Summer brings tree stress from drought and heat and unfortunately many instances of deliberate tree deaths, due often to blocked neighbour views. Which takes us to Autumn when its warm and wet. A perfect combination for pathogenic fungi and bacteria to attack already stressed trees.
Pathogens are present year-round however under the right conditions (warm and wet) can become even more virulent. Since our last autumn was a particularly “warm and wet” season it seems very fitting to write this article. There are many different pathogens however this article looks specifically at Armillaria as it’s a particularly damaging pathogen and can be easily spotted at this time of year if you know what to look for.
Armillaria sp. is a fungal root rot caused by several different members of the genus Armillaria. Armillaria affects a wide range of woody species, usually trees, since it is one of the white wood-rotting basidiomycetes. The symptoms are variable depending on the host infected, ranging from stunted leaves to chlorotic growth and dieback. The extent of these symptoms varies with the degree of infection as well as the susceptibility of the host.
The blog post Pathogen hunting wet weather and plant decline is republished from: SESL Australia
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