Oak wilt is a fungal disease that can quickly kill an oak tree. It is caused by the fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum. Symptoms vary by tree species but generally consist of leaf discoloration, wilt, defoliation, and death. The fungus is spread from diseased to healthy trees by insect vectors or via connections between tree roots. Management of the disease consists mainly of preventing infection by avoiding tree wounds, removing diseased trees and digging trenches that disrupt root connections. Chemical treatments are available and are mostly preventive as well. Oak wilt is an important disease of oak for timber production and of oak trees in urban areas.
Read more about Oak Wilt: Hosts and Symptoms, Disease Cycle, Environment, Management, Importance, Host-Parasite Interaction, Origin
Famous quotes containing the words oak and/or wilt:
“I could lecture on dry oak leaves; I could, but who would hear me? If I were to try it on any large audience, I fear it would be no gain to them, and a positive loss to me. I should have behaved rudely toward my rustling friends.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“An innocent man is a sin before God. Inhuman and therefore untrustworthy. No man should live without absorbing the sins of his kind, the foul air of his innocence, even if it did wilt rows of angel trumpets and cause them to fall from their vines.”
—Toni Morrison (b. 1931)