Let us help you manage your forest, sustainable and to meet your goals.
Vice President (vacant)
Secretary Leslie Demmert
Treasurer Mark Ellenberger
Newsletter and Publicity Kathy Ryba
Board Members John and Jane Buzzell, Bill and Ruth Park, Nick Salamon, Jim Walizer, Susan Benedict
Advisors Tim Cole (DCNR); Dave Jackson (Cooperative Extension)
WOCC Annual Picnic June 10, 2010 – PSU Ag Progess Grounds – 5:30 pm social time; 6:00 picnic dinner. Program: Treevitalize – A cooperative effort. Mark your calendars. This is an evening for WOCC members to come out, enjoy a picnic dinner provided by WOCC, socialize, and enjoy the program. More info coming.
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PaFS
Annual Meeting and Inservice.
Friday
and Saturday, July 23-24, 2010. Rock Springs
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AG Progress days: August 17th through the 19st.We need volunteers to staff the Tree Farm Display at We would like to have two shifts on Tuesday, three on Wednesday and two on Thursday. It is desirable that more than one person staff each shift. We are in the Conservation Education Tent. To view a map go to http://apd.cas.psu.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tree Farm Field Day Saturday, September 18 – – Susan Benedict’s Family Property in Snow Shoe. WOCC and Dave Jackson (Cooperative Extension) will co-host this day event. $20 registration fee. Mark your calendar for this outdoor educational day. More info to come. Susan is looking for a small hay wagon to borrow for the day. Please contact her at 814.360.3035 or sbenedict3@ comcast.com.
Marcia and Bruce Bonta Wednesday October 6, 7:00 Foxdale Village auditorium. Marcia and her husband were in one of the original Pennsylvania Forest Steward classes. They own property near Tyrone. Marcia writes several columns including PGC Game News Naturalist's Eye and her own website.
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Other News
We welcome a new sponsor to WOCC:
Forest Regeneration Services, INC
See them at www.ForestRegeneration.com or call Barry at (570)228-6332
Please see our Whispers from the Woods page for activities from other Woodland Owners' Associations .
Sept 14, 2010
All Board meetings are at Foxdale at 7:00
PA Forests Web Seminar Center at noon and 7 p.m. http://rnrext.cas.psu.edu/PAForestWeb/default.html to register.
Short webinar series on wildlife and the plants they love to hate
first Mondays each month at noon and 7 p.m.
Learn how to un-invite some of your wildlife friends by planting a different menu of floral entrees while nurturing your native plants.
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If you've ever planted a tree, you
know there it is a satisfying experience! Who doesn’t feel good about helping
the environment today and providing something of value to those who will enjoy
the tree tomorrow? People who plant trees are forward thinking and giving
forward.
Because trees are so important to our
environment and improve our quality of life, Pennsylvania has launched a
statewide effort to promote and restore tree cover to Pennsylvania's
communities. TreeVitalize
is a
public-private partnership to help restore tree cover, educate citizens about
planting trees as an act of caring for our environment, and build capacity among
local governments to understand, protect and restore their urban trees. Begun in
2004 in Philadelphia, it was launched statewide in 2009. Now it has the goal of
planting 1 million trees across the Commonwealth (and not just in urban areas)
by 2012.
So how can
you help out? Plant a tree to help reach the 1
million mark, even if you don't live in a TreeVitalize metropolitan area. Count
the trees you plant this spring! Log onto www.treevitalize.net and
click on Have you planted a tree? Count
your tree. It's good for the environment and your
community.
If you're thinking about planting a
tree but don't know where to start, the website has useful tips for choosing
trees, how to plant, the benefits trees provide, how to care for them once
they're in the ground, and links to other tools and resources for homeowners,
landowners, and communities. And if you live in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster,
or Perry counties, look for the coupon that provides $15 off a $75 tree purchase
at participating nurseries. This site has a plethora of information and
resources!
TreeVitalize partners include DCNR
Bureau of Forestry, Penn State Forest Resources Extension; Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society; Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; regional, county, and
community government offices; local conservation organizations; private
foundations and corporate sponsors. Plant a tree today for tomorrow -- you’ll be
giving everyone a gift!
The
Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of
topics related to woodland management. For a list of free publications, call 800
234 9473 (toll free), send an email to RNRext@psu.edu, or write to Forest
Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State
University, 416 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The
Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in Partnership with
Penn State's Forest Resource Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program
in Pennsylvania.
Contact: Christine Ticehurst
PaFS Annual Meeting and Inservice.
Friday and Saturday, July 23-24, 2010. Rock Springs
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Phytophthora ramorum detected in Pennsylvania
The following information CAN BE SHARED with clientele, Master Gardeners and the general public.
On Feb. 18, 2010 the Penn State Plant Disease Clinic received a sample of Laurus nobilis, known commonly as bay laurel, true laurel, sweet bay, laurel tree, Grecian laurel, or bay tree. Some people use its leaves in cooking. The tips of the leaves submitted were dead or dying and it was reported by the grower that 95% of well rooted plants in 12 or so flats exhibited the symptoms. The United States Department of Agriculture-Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) confirmed the plants to be infected with Phytophthora ramorum, the Sudden Oak Death pathogen known to occur in trees and shrubs on the west coast of the U.S. and in Europe. The sample came from a commercial, primarily wholesale, greenhouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Phytophthora ramorum can infect many important ornamental trees and shrubs under the right conditions. There is a great deal of concern that this fungus-like organism could cause significant economic damage to eastern forests and landscapes if not excluded from the region.
The’ bay laurel’ submitted was not Umbelluiaria californica, the California bay or California bay laurel that grows on the west coast and is a major host of Phytophthora ramorum that then spreads to oaks. However, Laurus nobilis is known to be a host of Ph. ramorum.
The actual source of the Ph. ramorum in Pennsylvania is still under investigation and is very much in question. The infected plants had been grown in Pennsylvania from seed obtained from a source in California. As yet, there are no known cases of Ph. ramorum being seedborne. I learned recently that the ‘seed’ is sometimes received not as cleaned seed but as seed still in the drupe (fruit). That raises the possibility that the pathogen may have been in parts of the fruit other than the actual seed. It is also possible that the pathogen was infecting other plants in the greenhouse and spread to the Laurus. APHIS is doing ‘trace backward’ investigations to determine where the pathogen may have come from and ‘trace forwards’ to determine whether various plants sold by the Pennsylvania greenhouse are carrying the pathogen.
SO WHAT YOU SAY!!
Phytophthora ramorum has, to date, been excluded from the eastern U.S. but this occurrence may indicate that the plant pathogen is now or will soon be in the region from multiple sources. In 2009, Laurus nobilis was named as the Herb of the Year by the International Herb Association (IHA). Laurus nobilis seed can be purchased from a number of sources including through Amazon.com. Web information indicates that the seed is difficult to germinate. It is my understanding that people have been encouraged to grow this plant and that it has been used in various Master Gardener projects. If seed or tissue associated with seed is actually the source of the pathogen, it is possible that Phytophthora ramorum has arrived in the east with seed purchased by backyard gardeners, etc. Where is the ‘failed to germinate’ material discarded? Where are plants with dying leaf tips discarded?
The photo below (and attached) is of the actual sample as it arrived at Penn State. It is not very impressive. If you are presented with Laurus nobilis plants with dead or dying leaf tips or entire plants dead or dying… those symptoms may be caused by:
too much water
too little water
too much fertilizer
chilling or freeze damage
Phytophthora ramorum infection
Send a sample to the Plant Disease Clinic after filling out the Clinic form obtained at the county Cooperative Extension office (also attached). Please put the plant or plant parts in a clean Ziploc or similar bag with a DRY paper towel. Place that bag inside another bag with the clinic form OUTSIDE both bags. Put the bagged sample and form either in a padded envelop or a cardboard box. Use overnight delivery OR mail it early in the week so that it arrives in the clinic promptly and does not sit in a post office over a weekend. If that requires holding the sample a day or two, then put the packaged sample in a refrigerator (not freezer) or in a cool place out of direct sunlight until it can be sent.
There is much we don’t know about the circumstances surrounding this occurrence and, therefore, we can’t release specifics such as the name of the greenhouse. But, the information above can be used in newsletters, training sessions, news releases, grower presentations, etc.
06Jun 2010 Copyright . Woodlandowners. All rights reserved.
