Monday, October 18, 2010

Buy It Where You Burn It campaign covers OR, WA & ID

Moving firewood also moves invasive species, including P. ramorum

Buying local firewood protects Oregon forestry and ag
– Imported firewood is a major pathway for invasive species
By Oregon Department of Agriculture

Buy local has a whole new meaning when it comes to protecting Oregon from invasive species this fall and winter. Consumers are urged not to purchase firewood from out-of-state and all the insects and diseases it might carry. Instead, buying local firewood can help keep invasive species from gaining a foothold in the Oregon environment.

“Firewood is a major pathway for moving invasive species, and that’s not a good thing,” says Dan Hilburn, administrator of the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Plant Division and member of the Oregon Invasive Species Council (OISC). “The take home message to Oregonians is to buy their firewood locally and burn it locally.”

Whether it is used at a campground or at home, people are transporting firewood great distances these days, taking with them any bugs or diseases that might not be native to that area.

http://naturalresourcereport.com/2010/10/buy-it-where-you-burn-it-campaign-covers-or-wa-id/

Monday, October 11, 2010

New nursery research projects at NORS-DUC

Pending California Department of Pesticide Regulation approval, the following five projects will soon be underway at the National Ornamentals Research Site at Dominican University of California (NORS-DUC). All projects have been funded through the fiscal year federal Farm Bill. For more information on the projects or the NORS-DUC program, contact Sibdas Ghosh at sibdas.ghosh@dominican.edu.

Bostock, R.M. and Roubtsova, T. Episodic abiotic stress and ramorum blight in nursery ornamentals: impacts on symptom expression and chemical management of Phytophthora ramorum in Rhododendron.

Chastagner, G. and Elliott, M. The risk of asymptomatic Phytophthora ramorum infection on fungicide treated rhododendrons.

Jeffers, S.; Meadows, I.; Hwang, J.-S. Studies on Soil Mitigation of Phytophthora ramorum.

Tjosvold, S.; Chastagner, G.; and Elliott, M. Effect of fungicides and biocontrol agents on inoculum production and persistence of Phytophthora ramorum on nursery hosts.

Widmer, T. and Shishkoff, N. Use of Trichoderma spp. to remediate Phytophthora ramorum-infested soil.

Helping to map the SOD outbreak in California

Sudden oak death: Plotting trail, testing leaves


A map plotting the path of destruction that the tree-strangling pathogen known as sudden oak death is taking through the Bay Area shows new infestations in and around neighborhoods throughout the region.

The effort to track the wily killer's movements is the result of a major effort to involve citizens in the battle against the mysterious pathogen, which has killed tens of thousands of oak trees from Big Sur to southern Oregon.



Read more: San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 4 2010