What's next ???
Not so long ago it was the Asian longhorn beetle- A wood-boring insect that can cause
extensive damage to a range of urban and forest broadleaved
trees that we had to worry about now its Chalara dieback that affects Ash trees.
Chalara dieback of ash is a serious disease of ash trees caused by a fungus
called Chalara fraxinea. The disease causes leaf loss and
crown dieback in affected trees, and it can lead to tree death. It has already
wiped out 90 per cent of ash trees in Denmark in seven
years and is becoming widespread throughout central Europe.
Almost a third of British woodland is ash.
Already the fungus has been compared
to Dutch elm disease that decimated elms in the 1970s.
According to the forestry commission website - The UK Government is preparing to impose restrictions on imports and
movements of ash plants and seeds into and within Great Britain. These could
come into force as early as next week. Meanwhile the Horticultural Trade
Association has also encouraged its members to voluntarily stop importing ash
plants until the disease situation has been clarified.
