Horse Chestnut Disease

[Dan Salter]

Hi folks...I have neglected the site this week as i have major computer probs...im moving out of my flat any day now and need to ebay my life away and cant upload bloomin pics to it...and i start at uni TOMORROW ( Thu )

So appology if there is a thread about this already i havent been around ( Whats with the new split...recent posts...community posts thing? ..Dont worry ill work it out soon enough)

I have seen a lot of evidence and heard a few people talking about a disease thats affecting all our horse chestnuts...but im not sure if its nationwide or just local to me in the kent area?...all the local ones have turned dead and yellow leaved.
I have not had time to check local papers or news programmes and even my mother knows more about it than me?...
Can anyone fill me in please and get me up to speed?...i dont want to be the only one at uni tomorrow not in the know?

Cheers
Dan

[Paul mabbott]

Is this a disease or are we talking about the horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella? This is a moth which has been in southern England for a few years - creates very large, distinctive mines on the leaves - Forest Research - Horse chestnut leaf miner - Cameraria ohridella
It's suggested that trees won't be killed by this but this summer many large horse chestnuts in London have been completely defoliated. I don't see how they could survive many years like that ....
Have fun at Uni ....

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

...and i start at uni TOMORROW ( Thu )
So appology if there is a thread about this already i havent been around ( Whats with the new split...recent posts...community posts thing? ..Dont worry ill work it out soon enough)
I have seen a lot of evidence and heard a few people talking about a disease thats affecting all our horse chestnuts...but im not sure if its nationwide or just local to me in the kent area?...all the local ones have turned dead and yellow leaved.
I have not had time to check local papers or news programmes and even my mother knows more about it than me?...
Can anyone fill me in please and get me up to speed?...i dont want to be the only one at uni tomorrow not in the know?
Cheers
Dan

[Imaginos]

There is also a fungus attacking horse chestnuts this year-the Kew chestnuts have been affected apparently, trouble is I can't remember the name at the moment.
I mentioned in an earlier thread about the moth that I hadn't seen any in this area. I must have had my eyes closed-it seems every horse chestnut I look at has the mines at the moment. I've been told that raking up the shed leaves and burning them may go some way to controlling local outbreaks.

[Paul mabbott]

Forest Research - Bleeding Canker of Horse Chestnut

Originally Posted by Imaginos

There is also a fungus attacking horse chestnuts this year-the Kew chestnuts have been affected apparently, trouble is I can't remember the name at the moment.

[henrya]

And of course many trees, especially urban ones, have been drought stressed this year (apologies to anyone who has been flooded, but in general it's been a very dry year over much of the country)

henrya

[mrs fish]

The horse chestnuts around here have had the leaf thing and I thought the conkers may be affected in some way but they haven't , they are large and plentiful, this has pleased my parents as they place them around the house to keep the spiders away( mother has a phobia ), I think the theory is that a conker looks like another very large spider curled up?
There are a few planes about that seem to have a white fungus and I have noticed one tree is completley bare of leaves.

[colinaj]

The trees on my patch are totally devoid of leaves & the fruit are very small this year. hence the Nation alseed bacnk day onthe 7th Oct. Then we will be growing more Chestnut trees & gathering other tree seeds too.

There is so much new stuff to record this year what with harlequin ladybirds & Turkish Cray fish etc

[Dan Salter]

Turkish cray fish? mmmm do they taste as good as the signals?

[IanS]

The Horse chestnuts have been affected here in Norwich but not to the extent of those in and around London.I 've noticed since early August that trees on my train route to Oxford have been seriously affected with many with barely any leaves left on them. A friend of ours works at Wisely and he is uncertain if the trees willl survive. I guess that if next year is as bad then trees will start to die off.

[Paul mabbott]

Good seed proiduction isn't necessarily a 'good sign' - it's sometimes a reaction to stress. If the tree 'thinks' it's going to die it will produce as many seeds as possible to preserve its genes (okay, I know trees don't think - it's a biological response to threatened resources ....).
The white fungus on plane is probably a mildew and unlikely to threaten them (and we have far too many planes as it is .....), it's also common this year on various maples (Acer spp) especially the Norway maple: good for mildew-eating beetles!

Originally Posted by mrs fish

The horse chestnuts around here have had the leaf thing and I thought the conkers may be affected in some way but they haven't , they are large and plentiful, ........
There are a few planes about that seem to have a white fungus and I have noticed one tree is completley bare of leaves.