Mysterious Red Bays Disease
I was asked by an arborist at Forest Keepers in Milton, Georgia to stop by and see if I could identify the cause of death of all the Red Bays in his area. Upon arrival we searched for three days in an unsuccessful effort to find a live red bay. I was able to find a stain under the cambium tissue of one of the dead trees which suggested a fungus was involved but I was unable to identify it with my limited library. When I returned to Florida I contacted the University of Florida and found the following information.
The disease “Raffaelea lauricola”, commonly called laurel wilt is vectored by a tiny exotic ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus) which, until now, has been found only in Asia. Apparently it was brought to this country through Savanna, Georgia in a wood product about five years ago. Since then it has moved southward at a rapid pace.
It appears this beetle feeds on any of the laurel family and that includes the avocado! I look forward to providing some fungicide injection treatments in an effort to control this devastating disease.
