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Building Regulations and Accreditation
News Release from: Forestry Commission | Subject: Red band needle blight
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 October 2003
Pines Threatened By Needle Blight
Red band needle blight, which causes trees to shed their needles, loss in timber yields, and sometimes death of conifer trees, has caused widespread damage.
Pine trees in one of the country's most popular forest parks have recently been ravaged by a disease which attacks their needles Red band needle blight, which causes trees to shed their needles, loss in timber yields, and sometimes death of conifer trees, has caused widespread damage to Corsican pine trees in Thetford forest in southeast England
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 23 Jun 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Last year the disease was also reported for the first time in forests in the Scottish Borders.
Experts from Forest Research, the research agency of the Forestry Commission, have reported unusually high levels of the disease over the last five years.
A new information note providing advice for woodland owners and managers has just been published.
Red Band Needle Blight of Pine assesses the scale of the infection in the Britain and describes a number of methods which can be successfully used to halt its advance.
"Red band needle blight is a fungal disease which can affect many species of conifer," explained pathologist Anna Brown, one of the authors of the report.
"However pines are the most common hosts of the disease and in Britain Corsican pine appears to be particularly susceptible.
"In 2003 we have seen the most significant occurrence of red band needle blight in the UK over the past 40 years.
The reasons for this are unclear - however increased spring rainfall in recent years coupled with a trend towards warmer springs may have created optimal conditions for infection.
"Methods recommended for controlling red band needle blight include good stand management.
Thinning and pruning increase the airflow within forests, preventing the warm damp conditions in which the pathogen thrives.
The use of resistant or alternative species and the application of fungicides can also help, and combinations of these methods have proved very effective.".
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