Monday, May 18, 2009

Cedar Apple Rust



This is a picture of my 25 foot Eastern Red Cedar that has cedar-apple rust. The fungus requires two host, over winters on galls, and causes the woody tissue to swell into galls on the cedar tree. My tree had eleven visible galls. The significant amount of rain and warm temperatures forced the galls to expand and burst into orange tendrils which at a distance I thought were gorgeous. But seeing the tendrils up close, I quickly changed my mind. While I do not know of any apple trees (the other host) in my community, my MG training tells me that there could be one as close as half a mile from my home. Now what to do? Eliminating one of the host is the recommended prevention. That is not an option. A fungicide is not recommended for the Eastern Red Cedar so I have removed each goal. The galls should have been removed before the tendrils burst open spreading the spores. Hopefully, next year I won’t be sharing this same information! Does anyone think the apples I left in my habitat for the rabbits could be responsible for the cedar-apple rust?

submitted by Cece Sussex MG in Ocean View

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