Over the summer months, the trees you’ve grown and grafted will be coming into leaf. This is not only a great moment to celebrate your successes but also the time of year when it’s easiest to spots signs of potentially harmful tree pests and diseases.
While lots of wildlife and insects live on and around trees without causing any significant problems, some can be very harmful, limiting growth or even killing trees. These are often ones that have been introduced from other continents, and to which our native trees have no natural resistance. The government has identified the most dangerous ones as ‘priority’ pests and diseases. It is therefore particularly important to recognise the signs and symptoms of these specific pathogens.
These ‘priority’ pests and diseases are not only harmful to the trees growing on your site but, if they go unnoticed, could pose a risk to the wider tree population when planted out. It’s important that tree health checks become part of your tree care routines.
Tips to help keep your trees healthy and free of pests and diseases:
- Familiarise yourself with the ‘priority’ pests and diseases the species you grow are susceptible to. Forest Research’s citizen science initiative Observatree has helpful information about what to look out for.
- Once you have a list of potential ‘priority’ pests and diseases, learn what they look like or what the symptoms look like in trees. You could make posters for your site to help your volunteers know what to look out for.
- Encourage volunteers to check trees during watering, weeding or just walking through your growing space. Look out for:
- Leaf discolouration
- Leaf or sapling wilting
- Signs of insect damage – holes, bite marks, eggs
If you spot a tree that is affected by any ‘priority’ pests or diseases, take action. The first thing to do will be to report your sighting to Forest Research’s Tree Alert portal. They will then be able to verify your report and support you with further actions that you may need to take.
To help you thoroughly check your trees’ health, take a look at a clear six step process featured in our Tree Grower’s Guide.
