Chestnut trees at risk from fungal disease

A new outbreak of a tree disease has been identified in Devon and has sparked an appeal for people to check their trees.

Forestry Research said there was findings of sweet chestnut blight, a disease which was usually "fatal" to sweet chestnut.

The organisation, along with The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and Coventry University, has urged woodland owners and the public to check on the health of sweet chestnuts this spring and summer.

Sweet chestnut blight, also known as Cryphonectria parasitica, is caused by a fungus which enters the tree through wounds and poses no risk to to people or animals, Forestry England said.

It said signs included discoloured and fissured cankers, dead tissue on stems, with orange pinhead-sized fungal fruiting bodies and buff-coloured fungal fans under the bark.

Forestry England said the disease could be spread by wind and rain and when the trees were heavily infected, nearby trees of other species could also occasionally by affected.

Sweet chestnut trees could also be affected by the oriental chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) and although the tiny stingless wasp does not cause any damage to humans, it lays its egg in the tree's growth buds and can cause abnormal growths, it said.

Head of pathology Lisa Ward asked people to "remain vigilant" for signs of the fungal disease or damage caused by oriental gall wasp.

She said: "We encourage any suspected findings to be reported through the TreeAlert online portal, with data helping the Forestry Commission monitor, and in the case of sweet chestnut blight, respond quickly to the threat. Your vigilance plays a vital role in protecting our woodlands."

Senior plant pathologist at the RHS added: "Equipping gardeners with the skills they need to report those exhibiting signs of blight is important if we are to protect the species for the future and help weather climate change and the biodiversity crisis."

She said data collected from this year's reporting would feed into a scientific paper led by the RHS and Coventry University on how citizen scientists could protect trees from invasive pests and diseases.

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