Ho! Ho! Ho! - Toxic Christmas Trees?

By Nate Seltenrich Courtesy of the Sierra Club

The Fraser fir is the ideal Christmas tree. Fragrant, strong-limbed and long-lasting when cut, it has found its way to the White House's Blue Room more than any other tree over the past 50 years. It is also a vector to the most destructive plant pathogen you've never heard of.

The shapely Fraser fir, a southern Appalachian native now farmed extensively in nurseries, is a common carrier - and victim - of Phytophthora cinnamomi, a deadly water mold wreaking havoc on ecosystems around the world. When infected Frasers are replanted, the disease gets an opportunity to spread to new farms and neighboring plant life.

Read the rest of the article in the Bandera County Courier

Buy Local, Buy Green: Holiday Greenery and Christmas Trees Should Come From Local Sources

Informed purchases and adherence to state and federal regulations can prevent spread of forest pests

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Buying freshly-cut evergreen trees and greenery to decorate during the holiday season is a time-honored and favorite tradition. Unfortunately, harmful non-native insects and diseases can hitchhike on these trees and branches, starting new infestations in communities that were previously pest-free. This has become such a serious problem that federal and state governments now regulate the movement of Christmas trees, holiday wreaths, and related material. Buying locally cut trees from established vendors is better for the economy and the environment.

More than 450 non-native forest insects are now established in the United States. Federal and state regulations require certain conditions be met in order to move Christmas trees and wreaths out of areas quarantined due to pest infestations. These regulations are aimed at stopping the spread of gypsy moth, pine shoot beetle, sudden oak death (a tree disease), and other forest pests, which can be transported on holiday plant material.

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Other items of interest

Check out the December COMTF newsletter for these and other articles:

Patterns of Firewood and Forest Pests Brought to California in 2011, By Matthew Bokach, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region Forest Health Protection


Alder Phytophthora: Native or Exotic? –Surprising New Findings

Canada/United States bilateral talks on P. ramorum policy

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service P. ramorum program manager and trade director for Canada attended a meeting hosted by CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC) November 8 – 9, 2011 to discuss certification processes for shipments of P. ramorum host plants from Canada as well as other international commerce concerns.  Regulatory survey data in addition to protocols and harmonization of regulations and host lists were reviewed, and visits were conducted to three propagation nurseries in BC under the Canadian Nursery Certification Institute (CNCI) Program.  To date, P. ramorum detections in BC have only been in retail establishments and not in propagation nurseries which are the major shippers of host plants to the US.

From the December COMTF newsletter