Do You Really Have Oak Wilt?
Diagnosing that the oaks in question actually have oak wilt is the
first step in any disease control program. There are a number of
problems with oak trees that are often confused with Oak Wilt. Review
The Issues Confused with Oak
Wilt page to insure you are not dealing with these other diseases
or problems.
Each Oak Family Expresses Symptoms Differently
Each of the families of Oaks – Red, White and Live express the disease
differently. However, they have one key symptom in common – leaf
drop. Leaf drop is an important symptom because most other Oak maladies
do not cause leaf drop. When leaf drop is combined with one or more
other symptoms, Oak Wilt can be reliably identified.
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Symptoms of Red oaks with Oak wilt include:
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- Leaf drop
- Leaves that are partially brown and partially green
- Rapid progression of symptoms from top of the tree downward
- Tree death in 4 to 6 weeks
- Dark streaking under the bark (Not always present)
- Surrounding Red oaks also wilting a dying
- Spore mats form ONLY IN THE RED OAK FAMILY. The spore
mat lies underneath the bark, look for cracks
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Symptoms
of White oaks with Oak wilt include: |
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- Leaf drop
- Leaves that are partially brown and partially green
- In some cases leaves are an olive drab color with a dry
appearance
- Progression of symptoms from ends of branches inward
- Branches dying one at a time over a variable period
- Tree death can take months or years
- Dark streaking under the bark (Not always present)
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Symptoms
of Live oaks with Oak wilt include: |
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- Leaf drop
- Leaves have interveinal chlorosis
- Symptoms appear all over tree
- Tree death can take 1-6 months
- Dark streaking under the bark (Not always present)
- Surrounding Live oaks also wilting and dying
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