Weird Fungus Invades Apple Trees

(Photo Credit: Scott Weikert, Penn State Extension)

(Photo Credit: Scott Weikert, Penn State Extension)

A bright orange fungus is attacking Pennsylvania apple trees, and a plant pathologist says it must be stopped.

Kari Peter, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology at the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center, says Nectria fungus is attacking already compromised trees.

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Trees with fire blight cankers, for example, are a prime target for the oddly colorful fungus, which is easy to spot in the dead of winter.

“The distinct color, the leaves are off the trees – it just pops,” says Peter.

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There’s no treatment for the fungus, which she emphasizes absolutely must be removed.

“All you can do is prune it out,” she says, and for those trees that are so overcome with the fungus that pruning is not an option, physical removal is mandatory.

Here is Peter’s pithy report.

Source: Penn State Extension

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