Veinal necrosis - a symptom on live oak leaves.

Things are starting to heat up (weather wise) and we are beginning to see more influx of samples for oak wilt pathogen detection.  Oak wilt is a disease cause by a fungus and  can kill trees.  The Texas live oaks and various red oaks are susceptible to this disease.  There has been so many question asked, such as “Why is my tree dying?”, ” How did it get infected?”, or ” Why is my neighbor’s tree healthy but mine is dying?”.

Preparing a submitted sample for Oak Wilt pathogen detection.

Then we also have the question, “How can we fix it?”  Unfortunately, there is not an answer that fits all perfectly. Situation has to be evaluated on an individual basis, hence  opinions and suggestions of a certified arborist and/or a trusted knowledgable person can be very helpful.

I came across an older youtube video (2009) of Dr. David Appel (tree pathologist at Texas A&M) giving an overview about Oak Wilt.  This would be a helpful informational video for many of you who are curious about this fungal disease.  Enjoy.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/pDTyqSWxVCc[/youtube]

Also, there is the Texas Oak Wilt website (http://texasoakwilt.org) with lots of good information about this disease in Texas.

If you suspect that you might be dealing with oak wilt and need some assistance, please contact your local AgriLife Extension county office (many urban counties have Master Gardener volunteers trained in oak wilt response) or the Texas Forest Service.