Texas Root Rot

pb_beaker

Well my tree died and I was told its due to Texas Root Rot. Can anyone tell me of a good tree that does not sheed or sheed much. Also, I would like it to tolerant to Phoenix, AZ weather.

Thanx

jomoco

Here's a link to an extensve list of trees according to their armillaria resistance and susceptability levels.

http://www.chasehorticulturalresearc...laria_root.pdf

I'm working on an ancient coastal live oak(Quercus agrifolia) in the process of dying from a massive Ganoderma lucidum fungus eating away the insides of it's massive 84 inch trunk at ground level. It is growing beside a creek and could be very old indeed. To all outward appearances this tree was healthy and thriving before it spit a huge lateral off it's stump in a wind storm here a few days ago. The stump wound from the ejected limb provided access to a fairly large hollow dome in the exact center of the stump, about 36 inches across inside an 84 inch outer dia stump. Basically a hollowed out dome with Ganoderma lucidum fruiting bodies growing on the floor.

My plan is to have the tree declared a hazard tree with it's perimeter fenced in with warning signs while I try and burn those inside the stump fruiting bodies into piles of dust using artificial halide UV grow lights placed inside the stump and on constantly for a week or more, depending on visible results.

I don't like the idea of just writing these majestic old oaks off because of a lousy stinkin moldy fungus tunneling away inside in the dark wet night time hours.

I suspect that UV light exposure could possibly kill both armillaria and ganoderma, atleast to the extent you're able to expose the infected areas of fungus to the light 24/7.

Should be an interesting test project on fungal remedy treatments on prize trees.

What say you Ekka? Will the smelly fungus dry up and die from UV light exposure?

jomoco

Sean Freeman

The only studies I have ever read about the effecacy of UV light treatments were related to armillaria, I doubt it would have a huge impact on well established Ganoderma.

In what we would term veteran and ancient trees hollowing at the base of the stem is normal and to be expected. It is the health of the remaining functional tissue that is important and how effectively you think the tree is coping with its unwelcome house guests.

I suppose you know your area best, but personally I would be very very careful about describing a tree I thought should be retained as a "hazard tree".

Eric Frei

Oh, I just found this.

Well, you know me, more skeptical than an alien in a Catholic church listening to a sermon about Adam and Eve + the original sin.

Anyway, the problem is you seem to be treating the fruiting body not the fungus. You can burn off the fruiting body I suppose, but the fungi is inside the tissues of the tree.

Hazard tree, well, hazards are relevant to targets so a tree on a creek bank where occupancy rates are lower than the odds of winning the lottery dont seem to pose a hazard.

Static targets like buildings etc do matter though, even if occupancy rates are low as no-one likes a smashed up shed either, so perhaps some mitigation or restraint. I have prescribed in the past ground cabling and cable guidance to dictate the fall direction away from targets ... something you'd be really good at with your cabling skills.

But lets say the risk is too high, then if the client accepts lower the risk with heavy pruning if indeed it is a veteran tree and offers desire-able ecological benefits. I also acknowledge dead trees serve a purpose too, so even if it dies and becomes a dead tree it might still offer habitat value, once again sufficient hazard mitigation is necessary to accommodate the targets.

Jomoco, you are a smart man, you'll know what's best and don't need to feed your client BS to sell a tree through a chipper job so you can pay the loan and boys on Friday.

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