Islanders urged to check trees for widespread sooty bark disease in Jersey
Tom Dixon from the States of Jersey's Natural Environment team explains how you can look out for signs of sooty bark disease.
A disease that causes trees to become dry and brittle is on the rise in Jersey.
Islanders are being urged to check sycamore trees for sooty bark disease which is caused by the plant pathogenic fungus cryptostroma corticale and increases the risk of a tree falling down.
You can check if a tree is infected by looking for the following symptoms:
Branch dieback
Dry and brittle trees
Fast decline of infected trees in hot and dry conditions
Flaking layers of bark
Sooty black powdery spores on the trunk between bark layers
Cross section of cut wood has green/brown staining
The spores are hyper-allergenic, so anyone working to remove infected wood should wear an FFP3 face mask.
If islanders find the disease on their own trees, they should contact a tree surgeon for advice.
Most of the infections are found in Jersey's valleys where the majority of sycamores are located.
Although sooty bark disease has been present in the UK since the mid-1900s, recent dryer and hotter summers have caused it to become widespread in Jersey.
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