Plant Disease Creeps Into Midwest

A plant disease that could threaten oak trees has moved
from California to the Midwest. The GLRC’s Chris Lehman
has more:

Transcript

A plant disease that could threaten oak trees has moved
from California to the Midwest. The GLRC’s Chris
Lehman has more:


The disease was discovered in California in 1995 and has
mainly been confined to the Pacific Northwest. The
scientific name is Phytophthora ramorum. It
attacks some types of oak trees and shrubs.


Scientists say it could threaten large portions of eastern woodland.
Symptoms of the disease are hard to spot with the un-
trained eye, and some trees survive for years after
becoming infected.


The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says the
disease was discovered on a shrub that was shipped to a
hardware store from the state of Oregon.


Officials hope the early discovery of the disease means it won’t immediately
spread. But they say the incident is an example of how
easily deadly plant diseases can move from one part of the
country to another.


For the GLRC, I’m Chris Lehman.

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