Tree Disease Problems
There are three main factors necessary for trees to contract disease.
The first is a pathogen, these are also called “disease causing agents”. The
second is a specific weakness to that specific pathogen. The third is a
landscape or environment that has the correct conditions for disease to grow.
There are two major types of infections in terms of trees. The first are those
of transmittable nature, with molecular sized pathogens. Second, there are non-infectious
diseases that are inherited from within the trees own line. Typically, viruses,
bacteria, fungus, and protozoa are considered infectious diseases. The majority
of non-infectious diseases are caused by nutrient deficiencies, changes in
climate, intense weather conditions, pollution, changes in moisture, and even
human action.
In most cases the symptoms created by non-infectious diseases are
almost indistinguishable to those created as a result of actual infections.
This is why its of the utmost importance to actually learn the differences for
arborists. By isolating the symptoms first you can identify the disease later.
If you know exactly which disease you are dealing with it can be possible to
rejuvenate your trees back to health. Many arborists and tree experts have been
successful in this field with fruit trees through pruning to get rid of the
infected limbs. Some trees can be much harder to save than others from disease.
There are a multitude of factors to consider when saving diseased trees.