Ash dieback

Last year it was announced that "Ash dieback" disease had been recorded in several places in our area of Craven. Including in some areas where trees had been planted.

 But how do you recognise it? I asked? No-one would tell me which trees had been infected so I could have a look.

Last week whilst teaching s Spring Grass Identification course at Juniper Hall Field Centre, Box Hill, Surrey, one of the students, who works in Forestry Science Research noticed some infected saplings and showed us them.

The disease is as described : dieback.

The picture above shows a sapling that is pulled toward us for the picture so the tip of the sapling is off bottom left.

The fungus disease gets in through a leaf and then to the stem. Once it ring barks the stem everything above in the stem dies. Then it works its way down the stem. So the stem on the bottom left of the picture is dead.

A google images search on Ash dieback gives lots more pictures.

Here is a picture of us later that day looking for grasses in the grounds of the Juniper Hall, clustered round the base if one of the felled cedars (old age). Juniper Hall Lawn is superb for grasses - we found over 17 species.

http://theconversation.com/we-must-develop-the-genetic-tools-to-fight-ash-dieback-18931