Ohio’s trees, just like Ohio’s humans, face a variety of threatening diseases. These diseases mutate from year to year, and can move from plant to plant. Some of these just affect one particular type of tree; others can take down a wide range of trees and other plants.
As a tree company, we always want to stay current on the research surrounding these diseases. Sometimes, it makes sense to share the information on these infections with homeowners, so that we can all be on the lookout for these telltale signs.
The Walnut Twig Beetle spreads one particular fungus which spreads on black walnut trees. This fungus, which can be found mainly in the western United States, is called Geosmithia morbida, and is more commonly known as Thousand Cankers Disease.
Thousand Cankers Disease
This disease, also called TCD for short, happens when Walnut Twig Beetles bore into the trunks and branches of walnut trees. A fungus spreads as an infection, and eventually kills the tree.
The first case of TCD found in Ohio was in Butler County in 2012, and efforts continue to restrict the spread of these beetles beyond Butler County.
If you see numerous tiny cankers on the branches of a walnut, or yellowing leaves that quickly progress to a wilted brown, your tree may be infected. Branches will die, and circular cankers will spread under the bark.
Beech Leaf Disease
Lake County was the first county in Ohio to experience Beech Leaf Disease, or BLD. Scientists do not yet know what causes this disease. At the moment, most cases in Ohio are in the northeast – Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Portage, and Trumbull Counties.
