Keeping the Lid on Sudden Oak Death
Phytophthora ramorum, better known as sudden oak death, is more than a threat to trees and woody plants. It is a potential threat to the economy of Washington’s forest products, horticulture and landscaping industries.
A canker caused by P. ramorum |
SOD has already killed more than a million trees in California and Oregon, and it’s been found in 42 Washington nurseries. Western Washington is a “high risk” area for the diseases caused by the fungus-like pathogen because of favorable environmental conditions and an abundance of susceptible host plants including Douglas-fir, grand fir, rhododendron and Pacific yew.
WSU plant pathologist Gary Chastagner says that an outbreak in the natural environment could result in quarantines on the movement of host plant materials. “That would cause serious economic impacts for such industries as forestry, Christmas trees, nurseries, landscapers, and even restrict the movement of yard waste for municipal composting.”
 Leaf death cause by P. ramorum |
Since 2002, Chastagner and his team at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center have been researching the risk this pathogen poses to conifers, it’s spread in nurseries, and effective approaches to manage SOD. In response to industry concerns, WSU invested a quarter million dollars to build a biocontainment facility and later added a new molecular lab at the Puyallup Center to greatly expand the team’s capacity to research critical issues related to the establishment, host susceptibility, spread and management of P. ramorum.
 A California hillside devastated by Sudden Oak Death |
Since early detection is key to reducing the risk of widespread outbreaks, the team has developed an educational program, thanks to funding support from the U.S. Forest Service. The program offers training, workshops and educational materials to teach horticulture professionals symptom recognition and early detection in urban and natural landscapes.
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- Reducing Costly Fruit Rot
- Healthy Seed, Healthy Crops
- HIPPOs in the House
- Early Warning System for Late Blight
- Protecting Poplars
- Protecting Potatoes by Monitoring Aphids
- Seeking Answers for Grape Diseases
- Banning Smuts
- Mapping the Way to Improved Snow Mold Resistance
- Keeping the Lid on Sudden Oak Death
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