Walnut Tree Thousand Cankers Disease

The spread of this tree diseases continues recently Thousand Cankers Disease was found in Eastern Tennessee.  According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture,  "the risk represents an estimated value loss of $1.37 billion in black walnuts in Tennessee alone. There are an estimated 26 million black walnut trees on Tennessee public and private timberland potentially valued as high as $1.47 billion."  This of course doesn't take into consideration of the additional benefits that these trees are providing for us including cleaner air, stormwater reduction, cleaner water, carbon sequestration...

But this is significant news because Thousand Cankers Disease was originally found in Colorado and is currently in the following nine states Washington, Oregon, California, Neveda, Idaho, Utah, Arizonia, New Mexico, and Colorado.   All of these states, as showcased on the map, are outside of the native black walnut range.  Meaning that the impact of this could be millions of trees as there has been no cure for this disease.

How Can You Help

• Don’t transport firewood, even within Tennessee.  Don’t bring firewood along for camping trips. Buy the wood you need from a local source. Don’t bring wood home with you.

• Don’t buy or move firewood from outside the state.  If someone comes to your door selling firewood, ask them about the source, and don’t buy wood from outside the state. 

• If you suspect thousand canker disease in your area contact your local National Plant Diagnostic Network or contact your State Department of Agriculture, State Forester, or Cooperatvie Extension Office. Learn more about thousand canker disease including symptoms, how fast it takes to kill the tree, and other useful information.

 Sources

http://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/palerts/cankers_disease/thousand_cankers_disease_screen_res.pdf

http://www.aces.edu/ucf/BlackwalnutThousandCankerDisease.php

http://forestry.about.com/b/2010/09/28/thousand-cankers-disease-found-on-tennessee-black-walnuts.htm

http://crossville-chronicle.com/local/x176916073/Thousand-Cankers-Disease-found-in-East-Tennessee

http://arbordoctor.com/blog1/?p=864