A Description Of Declining And Blighted Pin Oaks In Eastern Virginia

Abstract

Endothia gyrosa , the pin oak blight fungus, commonly colonizes pruned branches and other wounds on pin oaks in Eastern Virginia communities. Sometimes the disease causes serious losses of valuable shade trees. In one outbreak of pin oak blight, diseased trees had a greater rate of decline in increment growth over a 25 yr. period than healthy, uninfected trees. As a result of this growth decline and the remedial pruning needed to remove dead and injured branches, blighted trees had smaller heights and diameters than healthy, uninfected trees. No single environmental factor, i.e., nutrients, precipitation, or root disturbance caused by the installation of underground utilities, was responsible for the occurrence of pin oak blight.