Waging war on "oak wilt"

[hotwine]

They didn't teach me anything about this at the Benning or Bragg Schools for Boys...

The problem with oak wilt described in another thread (http://38.118.142.245/ubb2/Forum39/HTML/000620.html) is going to be treated with a U-shaped trench, one leg of which will cut right across (in 3 places) the buried electrical service to my cellar. The same leg will also cut through the barbecue area, requiring relocation of the smoker, derelict deep freeze used for tool storage, and three stacks of oak logs. Moved the 750 lb smoker Saturday and will tackle the rest of the stuff in the next day or so. And I've got to cut down a couple of medium-sized oaks, just for the crew to get their equipment back there. Cost estimate so far is 11 grand but doesn't include individual tree treatment or services of the electrician. At least, given the time of year, I can dispense with cellar chilling for a few days without damaging the contents.

[Innkeeper]

Yikes!!!

[zenda2]

Sorry to hear this. What type of oak trees are affected? I know there's a big variety of oaks in Texas, is this wilt affecting all of them?

[hotwine]

The oaks affected include the "live oak", a form of white oak; and the red oak, which has a leaf like a maple tree. Have no idea as to the Latin names of either of them. Both become infected with a fungus transmitted by a beetle that burrows under the bark or through an open wound. Once infected, a live oak propagates the disease through its root system, which is often a common network from which many trees have emerged. A live oak dies within a year, while a red oak lasts less than a month. The purpose of trenching is to sever the root networks and thereby disrupt transmission; the trenches are 4 1/2 ft deep but only 4 1/2 inches wide, and are immediately covered by the same machine that digs the trench - no need to leave them open, since the objective is simply to sever the root system. We have both live oaks and red oaks on our place here, but so far, only some of the live oaks are infected. I'll have to cut down the infected trees as soon as they're fully dried out. Anybody need any firewood?

There are other forms of oak in the state (burr oak, pin oak, post oak, etc.) but don't know of their susceptibility to the disease.

[This message has been edited by hotwine (edited 12-16-2003).]

[Georgie]

Holy canoli! That's terrible. Maybe you can ship that oak off to some CA wine producers. I'm sure you know the ones who use it most!

[Bucko]

I told you not to use the same tree as your dog, but did you listen? Noooooo......

[zenda2]

That's a real shame. I particularly like all the big live oak on the coastal plains and elsewhere in south Texas and Louisiana. Beautiful trees.

[Duane Meissner]

My dad sings in a country gospel group consisting of about a half dozen University professors. After one of their first gigs, someone said "hey, y'all sound like the Oakridge Boys". One of the band members responded with "More like the OakWILT Boys". This has been their official name ever since.

http://www.concordia.edu/html/campus_life/oak_wilt.htm

DM

[This message has been edited by Duane Meissner (edited 12-16-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Duane Meissner (edited 12-16-2003).]