Poplar fungus or disease & is it contagious to surrounding trees? - Ask Extension
Last year we noticed several dead branches appearing in the canopy of one of our poplar trees. This winter and spring I noticed cankers oozing in sev...
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Poplar fungus or disease & is it contagious to surrounding trees? #323293
Asked May 20, 2016, 10:47 AM EDT
Last year we noticed several dead branches appearing in the canopy of one of our poplar trees. This winter and spring I noticed cankers oozing in several places on this tree. Pictures are attached. The smell of the debris in the cankers is quite foul. I'm concerned, because we planted several of these trees for shade, as all of the oak on our property has been killed by Oak Wilt.
Sherburne County Minnesota
Expert Response
Aspen trees are short-lived and subject to many pests and diseases. That plus their tendency to sucker accounts for the fact that these otherwise attractive trees are seldom planted for landscape purposes.
Laboratory analysis might be needed to identify the pathogen that's causing the cankers. In any case, we can't identify it from viewing the photos.
Because it's so common, there's a chance the tree has been affected by hypoxylon canker. You may be able to confirm or eliminate that possibility by studying the following bulletins:
https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/hypoxylon/hypoxylon.htm
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/trees-shrubs/hypoxylon-canker-on-aspens-and-willows/
The following information relates to Rocky Mountain aspen, but it may still be of interest:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5341328.pdf
Laboratory analysis might be needed to identify the pathogen that's causing the cankers. In any case, we can't identify it from viewing the photos.
Because it's so common, there's a chance the tree has been affected by hypoxylon canker. You may be able to confirm or eliminate that possibility by studying the following bulletins:
https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/hypoxylon/hypoxylon.htm
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/trees-shrubs/hypoxylon-canker-on-aspens-and-willows/
The following information relates to Rocky Mountain aspen, but it may still be of interest:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5341328.pdf
