An expert has shed light on destructive plant disease ‘polyphagous shot-hole borer’ (PSHB) at a public lecture held at Murdoch University last month.
Arb West committee member, senior arborist at Treeswest Australia and The Australian Arbor Age contributor Dave Crispin has been keeping readers of The Australian Arbor Age magazine informed on the Western Australian strategies and actions dealing with the the destructive and voracious borer.
The pest was first detected in WA in 2021, in East Fremantle, and is currently contained within a quarantine area around Perth which covers 30 local government areas.
Dr Shannon Lynch, an Assistant Professor from the University of California, has unique knowledge about the disease, which is caused by the invasive ambrosia beetle (Euwallacea fornicatus) and fungus (Fusarium euwallaceae).
Scientists in Southern California have been dealing with the pest for more than a decade, and the area is home to more than 77 tree species that act as reproductive hosts for the beetles and fungi.
The devastation caused by PSHB is evident in California’s river valleys, where it has killed hundreds of thousands of willow trees.
Hosted by the Harry Butler Institute, Dr Lynch’s lecture discussed how an Integrative Pest Management (IPM) approach helped to map infestation, identify priority hotspots, treat infected trees and ensure effective, ongoing management.
Using California’s Disneyland Resort as a case study, Dr Lynch shared how IPM efforts had been highly successful in dramatically reducing beetle populations in the park, with some trees even recovering from the infection.
Watch the video here.