06-02-2015, 05:59 PM
Received this email on the vascular wilt fungus Ceratocystsis & a talk at Aupuni Center this Friday, June 5, 5pm
Dear Hawaii Island foresters and forest landowners,
A new, devastating disease of ohia has been attacking forests in Puna and is rapidly spreading to other parts of Hawaii Island. So far thousands of acres of trees have been killed. The causal agent has been identified as the vascular wilt fungus Ceratocystis, which causes similar diseases in related trees such as Eucalyptus but had never been found attacking ohia until last year. We do not know how the disease got here or how it spreads.
I will be giving at talk at 5:00 pm this Friday, June 5th, at the Aupuni Center in Hilo on what we have discovered so far about this new disease, what the symptoms are, and what preventative measures we recommend. The talk is sponsored by the Hamakua Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. If you plan to attend please let Kanoe Malani of the SWCD know by calling her at 808-933-8363 or emailing her at Kanoe.Malani@hi.nacdnet.net.
Because we are discovering something new about the disease almost every week, we have set up a website with photos and the latest information. The URL is www.ohiawilt.org. If you see the symptoms illustrated on the website and are outside of the core area (Hilo town and Puna district up to Volcano) I would like to know so that we can sample and track the progress of the disease. There are many pests and diseases of ohia, including drought and the Puccinia rust, but this is something new, and you all who know your forests will see the difference. "
Dear Hawaii Island foresters and forest landowners,
A new, devastating disease of ohia has been attacking forests in Puna and is rapidly spreading to other parts of Hawaii Island. So far thousands of acres of trees have been killed. The causal agent has been identified as the vascular wilt fungus Ceratocystis, which causes similar diseases in related trees such as Eucalyptus but had never been found attacking ohia until last year. We do not know how the disease got here or how it spreads.
I will be giving at talk at 5:00 pm this Friday, June 5th, at the Aupuni Center in Hilo on what we have discovered so far about this new disease, what the symptoms are, and what preventative measures we recommend. The talk is sponsored by the Hamakua Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. If you plan to attend please let Kanoe Malani of the SWCD know by calling her at 808-933-8363 or emailing her at Kanoe.Malani@hi.nacdnet.net.
Because we are discovering something new about the disease almost every week, we have set up a website with photos and the latest information. The URL is www.ohiawilt.org. If you see the symptoms illustrated on the website and are outside of the core area (Hilo town and Puna district up to Volcano) I would like to know so that we can sample and track the progress of the disease. There are many pests and diseases of ohia, including drought and the Puccinia rust, but this is something new, and you all who know your forests will see the difference. "