# Maple trees dieing near the east coast?



## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

Ive heard there is a disease killing maple trees near the east coast. Has anyone heard about this, or know anything about it? Im concerned about my maple stand because I make maple syrup. If there is any information available, and/or any preventative measures available I would appreciate any information I can get before this gets to Michigan.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

None that I've heard of. There is a new asian beetle, I believe they are called asian long-horned beetles. They attack many kinds of trees and not just softwoods. They don't need a wound to gain entry, and go after perfectly healthy trees. They will be a serious pest in the future I guess. They do kill the tree when they get inside. They love maples. Added to the warmer temps in the east and north and you'll find maples to be seriously stressed and many are showing signs of blight. (Caused by droughts, water problems, acid rain, and any other environmental factors.) Forests that are diversified and not mono cultured are always healthiest.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i had heard that to m.farmer. i forget why or what i heard, but it may indeed be a combo effect of pollution and other diseases. all i could find online was verticulum wilt. i did see several discussions of pollution as a contributing factor.

woodspirit is right. i forgot to add that drought amplifies the effect of verticulum wilt by making it hard for the trees to make new growth to combat the wilt.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Well, if all goes as it seems in about twenty years all we will have left after the ash/maples/elms/oaks die is some multiflora rose and probably kudzu by then...


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

my uncle, a very simple man, once told me someday there will be nothing but "schrubs" (brush) growing on the mountains around here. he didn't know why, that is just what he felt.


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## Yeti (Nov 3, 2006)

I have several dead & dieing boxelder trees, the majority seem to be the males. the tops have died out of them like lightning hits. I bet I have lost 20 this year. two years ago I had to cut down my white ash trees my aunt gave me. they were about 20' high. about the best thing growing here is are autum olives. we lost a bunch of hickery about 5 years back from unknown causes


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## catmar (Nov 25, 2006)

The maples are fine here, but the sassafras had black spots this past fall. I'll have to check in the spring.


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## Mountaineer (Jan 1, 2006)

I read that in places along the east coast where people use wells, the salt water is soaking into the land and killing trees.
Maybe that was it? It was a while ago tha I read that.


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## woodspirit (Aug 3, 2005)

catmar said:


> The maples are fine here, but the sassafras had black spots this past fall. I'll have to check in the spring.


That is pretty normal to see at the end of the season. Alot of leaves show signs of leaf spot after the chlorophyll has left. Another type of leaf spotting that looks black is tar spot. Seems to affect Norway Maples pretty hard. Main thing is to practice clean culture and remove fallen leaves. It doesn't kill trees outright but any disease or insects will weaken trees. Salt would kill them pretty quickly. 
The boxelders sound like Japanese beetle damage to me. 
Verticillium wilt can and does affect trees like Maples but generally only affects one or a few branches. It is a vascular problem that the trees can outgrow or grow beyond the diseased portions. After that they'll be immune to the disease. Same thing hits tomatoes and other vegetables, except it is almost always deadly to them. It is soil borne and may indicate poor drainage.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

woodspirit said:


> That is pretty normal to see at the end of the season. Alot of leaves show signs of leaf spot after the chlorophyll has left. Another type of leaf spotting that looks black is tar spot. Seems to affect Norway Maples pretty hard. Main thing is to practice clean culture and remove fallen leaves. It doesn't kill trees outright but any disease or insects will weaken trees. Salt would kill them pretty quickly.
> The boxelders sound like Japanese beetle damage to me.
> Verticillium wilt can and does affect trees like Maples but generally only affects one or a few branches. It is a vascular problem that the trees can outgrow or grow beyond the diseased portions. After that they'll be immune to the disease. Same thing hits tomatoes and other vegetables, except it is almost always deadly to them. It is soil borne and may indicate poor drainage.



what i read about VW supports what you say. they claim it is important to maintain irrigation in times of drought to maintain growth. if the tree falls behind, the VW can gain ground and overwhelm the tree. i see alot of it in the box eldar and maples here. mostly it seems to affect multi-trunk specimens. i think in my case it reflects poor historical sugar bush management. i just got into tapping and sugar bush management last year so i am behind. many of the maples that are affected were considered junk trees and were neglected. i was focusing on hardwoods for firewood and neglected the red maples. i know better now.


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## Oldguy (Dec 26, 2006)

I believe that the dieback you are referring to is in coal river valley basin. It is limited right now to red maples, not exactly good syrup trees. 
anthracnose is the culprit or a anthracnose type disease.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

red maples are fine for the hobbyist. they worked out for me. from what i have read, sugar and black maple average 3%-4% sugar content. red maples average 2% sugar content. those numbers can increase or decrease with any of the species depending on the canopy health and sunlight.

when it becomes a numbers game, and in consideration of production on a large scale, red maple sap requires more evaporation and uses more energy making it less desirable.


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