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| Ash tree import ban to halt disease | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 28 Oct 2012, 01:23 AM (1,644 Views) | |
| skibboy | 28 Oct 2012, 01:23 AM Post #1 |
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27 October 2012 Ash tree import ban to halt disease ![]() A ban on the import of ash trees will come into force on Monday in an attempt to halt the spread of a deadly disease, the environment secretary has said. Owen Paterson has denied ministers were slow to react to the outbreak. The Chalara fraxinea fungus, which causes Chalara dieback, has already killed 90% of ash trees in Denmark and has been found in East Anglia. Mr Paterson said 50,000 ash trees have already been destroyed to try to prevent the spread of the disease. Until earlier this week, the disease had only been recorded in a few nursery specimens. Mr Paterson said: "We will bring in a ban on Monday. I have already prepared the legislation and we're ready to go. The evidence is clearly there." The disease was first spotted in February, at a nursery in Buckinghamshire - a case that was confirmed in March, said the environment secretary. Since then, examinations had been carried out at more than 1,000 sites and tree experts had been consulted. Mr Paterson said ash trees were not imported commercially during the summer, so the amount of time that had elapsed since the initial discovery had not increased the risk that more infected trees had been brought in. More widespread But Tim Briercliffe from the Horticultural Trades Association insisted the government's response to the disease had been too slow. He said: "As a trade we're very frustrated about it, because in 2009 we saw it out in Denmark on trees and we said you should ban imports now. "They didn't do it - they suggested that it was already endemic across Europe and across the UK, and since then the disease has continued to come in, and we believe it could be more widespread than perhaps we realise at the moment." Symptoms of Chalara dieback Diseased saplings typically display dead tops and side shoots. Lesions often found at base of dead side shoots. Lesions on branch or stem can cause wilting of foliage above. Disease affects mature trees by killing off new growth. The Woodland Trust welcomed the ban but called on the government to set up an emergency summit to manage other diseases affecting trees in the UK. Its chief executive, Sue Holden, said: "Ash dieback is only one of numerous tree pests and diseases present in the UK... it is crucial that the wider issue is tackled." Ash trees suffering with C. fraxinea have been found across mainland Europe, with Denmark reporting the disease has wiped out about 90% of its ash trees. Experts say that if the disease becomes established, then it could have a similar impact on the landscape as Dutch elm disease had in the 1970s. This outbreak resulted in the death of most mature English elm by the 1980s. Elms have recovered to some extent but in some cases only through careful husbandry. The East Anglia outbreak has been confirmed by plant scientists from the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) at the Woodland Trust's Pound Farm woodland in Suffolk, and Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Lower Wood reserve, in Ashwellthorpe. In a statement, the Woodland Trust said that the fungal infection had been found in "mature ancient woodland and woodland creation areas on our estate". The disease has the potential to devastate the UK's ash tree population. Visible symptoms include leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees and it can lead to tree death. In Europe, affected trees are not just in woodlands but are also being found in urban trees in parks and gardens and also nursery trees. Chalara dieback of ash has been listed as a quarantine pathogen under national emergency measures and the Forestry Commission has produced guidance, including help on how people can identify possible signs of infection. Experts are urging people to report suspected cases of dieback in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the wider environment becoming established. source:
Edited by skibboy, 28 Oct 2012, 01:24 AM.
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| skibboy | 28 Feb 2013, 03:13 AM Post #26 |
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46 confirmed cases of ash dieback in Ireland Minister Simon Coveney said he was “pleased” with the progress being made to control the disease. ![]() Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/Press Association Images THERE HAVE BEEN 46 cases of the ash tree disease – widely known as ash dieback – confirmed in Ireland. In an update this morning, the Department of Agriculture said Chalara fraxinea has been found in 26 forestry plantations and 14 horticultural nurseries across the country. Three samples from roadside landscaping have also tested positive, as well as one from a garden centre, one from a private garden and one from a farm. There are still more samples being tested at the laboratory and results are awaited. Meanwhile, Minister Simon Coveney said he was “pleased with the progress” being made on the Chalara Control Strategy. “My department has extended the scope of this survey work to cover ash plantations planted since 1992 … I am conscious that this situation has presented difficulties for those that have had to remove and destroy as plants but I believe that taking decisive action now on imported ash product is the correct approach to prevent the establishment of the disease in Ireland.” Last year, legislation to restrict the importation of ash into Ireland was introduced to help stem the spread of the disease. Dieback can affect ash trees of any age and in any setting. The GAA are said to be monitoring the situation closely as more than 70 per cent of the 350,000 hurleys used every year in Ireland are made from imported ash. Source:
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| skibboy | 27 Mar 2013, 01:54 AM Post #27 |
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26 March 2013 Government to plant 250,000 trees to beat ash dieback By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News ![]() Observers will be keeping a close eye on ash leaves for signs of fungal infection The government is to plant a quarter of a million ash trees in an attempt to find strains that are resistant to the fungus responsible for ash dieback. The £1.5m project is part of the long term management plan, unveiled by the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson. Funding will also be made available to woodland owners to help them remove infected ash saplings. The National Trust said it was too late to eradicate the disease, but the government plan could buy time. According to the Forestry Commission, outbreaks of the disease, caused by the fungus Chalara fraxinea, have been found at 427 sites in across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government says that the plan to plant 250,000 young ash trees is the first project of this kind in Europe. Existing stocks of ash will be bought and planted in the East and South East of England where most of the Chalara outbreaks have taken place. Slow the spread By planting in these areas, it is hoped that the young trees will be exposed to the fungus and can be monitored for signs of resistance. The Environment Secretary acknowledged that taking a long term approach to Chalara fraxinea was now the most effective strategy. "We know we can't stop Chalara infecting our ash trees, so we have to throw our resources into managing it and slowing the spread. A key part of that strategy will be identifying those trees which have a natural resistance to the disease so that we can re-stock our woodlands in the future," he said. Most of the new planting will take place on private lands. According to the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), these land-owners will not be paid for taking part in the experiment. One group taking part in the project is the Woodland Trust. They describe the plans as pragmatic. But the trust's chief executive Sue Holden told BBC News that there was no quick fix. "This is great to have a little bit of money but it needs a lot more - it needs long-term management." ![]() New chemical treatments to fight the fungus are being examined by the government She says she is concerned that cuts of some £37m in Defra's budget will affect the department's ability to tackle the threat to trees. "You can't just fight each disease as it arrives, you have to build resilience overall. This is not something that just one action plan is able to solve," she added. The government also announced that from April, owners will also be able to apply for funding to remove infected ash saplings and replace them with other trees. While some critics have said the government's plans are now to manage and not control the disease, Defra also said that new chemical treatments are being evaluated that could prevent trees from dying. Fourteen products that may be used on live trees and on leaf litter are to be evaluated in the laboratory to ensure they do not have an adverse effect on human and animal health. The ban on the import and movement of ash trees will continue. Source:
Edited by skibboy, 27 Mar 2013, 01:55 AM.
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3:06 PM Jul 11