The Town of Rocky Mountain House is asking residence to check their properties for Black Knot.
Black knot is said to be known as apiosporina morbosa. The airborne fungus is very contagious. If left untreated, officials say it effectively strangles new growth, which will girdle the branches and doom the tree to deterioration.
The Town of Rocky Mountain House says it is taking measures to control Black Knot on Town-owned trees, as it can spread rapidly to surrounding trees of the Prunus family. The Town is asking for your assistance in keeping the disease in check on your own property.
Early detection and sterile pruning is said to be the most effective way of dealing with black knot, especially in winter when the disease is dormant.
How to Identify Black Knot
While it is important to regularly monitor your trees for Black Knot symptoms, it is said to be easiest to identify between late fall and early spring when dormant and branches are bare.
Infection points are hard to identify in the early stages of development, say Town officials, because the small, light-brown or olive-green swellings do not stand out. As the disease matures, the infection grows and the bark ruptures into greenish-brown to black galls or cankerous swellings on the branches of your trees or shrubs.
The mature galls will produce and release many spores during the blossom period, resulting in a rapid increase in infections.
Did you Find Black Knot? Take these steps:
• Educate yourself and your neighbours about Black Knot and how to properly manage it on your property.
• Prune knots by cutting back at least 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) below the swelling. It is preferable to prune an infected branch further back to a healthy collar rather than leave a stub.
• After pruning, be sure to disinfect pruning tools with a mixture of bleach (10%) and water, isopropyl alcohol, rubbing alcohol or Pine-Sol.
• Burn diseased material immediately or put infected branches in a sealed garbage bag and put in your black waste bin and put out for regular collection. Even after the knots have been removed from the tree, they can produce infected spores for up to 4 months after removal.
• Do not mix infected cuttings with other organic materials, including those in your green cart.
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