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WHAT CAN WE DO?
The
symptoms of the foliar diseases caused by P.
ramorum resemble those of other common (and far
less threatening) plant diseases, so if you have
a rhododendron in your back yard
that has blotched leaves, don’t panic. And
whatever you do, don’t dig it up and haul it to
the landfill or recycling center. Instead, leave
it in
place and call your local Agricultural Extension
Office to report your suspicions. Your suspect
plant is unlikely to be infected with P. ramorum
if you did not buy a plant on the host or
associated plant list from Specialty Products or
Monrovia (whose plants come in distinctive dark
green pots with “Monrovia,” in paler green
emblazoned on them) in 2003 or 2004. If you did,
watch your plants closely,
visit the Monrovia
web site and click on “Plant Health and
Sudden Oak Death,” and be aware of public
information being disseminated on this issue.
Not only can the symptoms of the foliar diseases
be confused with other diseases, three
well-established oak problems in eastern forests
– Oak Decline (a slow-acting disease complex
resulting from interactions of multiple stresses
like drought and insect infestations); Oak Wilt
(an aggressive fungus disease); and red oak
borer infestations – can be mistaken for SOD.
The best web sites for information about SOD
are the three listed below. They provide basic
information, pest alerts, updates and links to
other web sites.
• California Oak Mortality Task Force web site:
www.suddenoakdeath.org
• USDA Forest Service SOD Home page:
www.na.fs.fed.us/SOD. (This web site also
provides information on Oak Decline, Oak Wilt
and Red Oak Borer and tells to distinguish them
from SOD.)
• APHIS SOD information:
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/sod
—EH
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