The emerald ash borer (EAB) has been found in Missouri .
Recently a letter was sent by USDA and the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) to all licensed nursery stock growers and dealers in the state of Missouri. The purpose of the letter was to bring attention to the federal emerald ash borer quarantine that now includes the entire states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and the lower peninsula of Michigan and parts of the upper peninsula of Michigan. Now , Missouri's Wayne County has also been quarantined.
Since the initial discovery of EAB in Michigan in 2002, USDA, MDA and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) have conducted extensive surveys throughout the state in search of EAB. In 2008, these agencies will continue these extensive surveys including the use of a newly developed EAB detection trap that USDA will deploy in high risk areas.
Furthermore, contrary to some sources, there are no effective treatments available for emerald ash borer at this time. If you suspect you have emerald ash borer you may call Collin Wamsley, MDA State Entomologist at 573-751-5505 or Collin.Wamsley@mda.mo.gov for assistance in identification. You may also contact Robert Lawrence, MDC Forest Entomologist at 573-882-9909 ext 3303 or Robert.Lawrence@mdc.mo.gov. The following website has information on EAB http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
An exotic pest that most commonly shows up on perennials brought in from outside of the U.S. or are grown in areas with those plants from out of the U.S, they cause elongated discoloration (between the veins) on plants with parallel veins like hosta, and blotchy patterns (again delimited by the veins)on other plants like Japanese Anemome, Butterfly Bush, Huechera, Ferns, etc.
Patterns showing infestation are most easily seen this time of the year when plants are growing, but have been exposed to summer stresses. As populations build in the plant, it can cause stunting, poor fruit or bud set, poor plant health and vigor, and eventually plant death. They cannot be seen with naked eye but proper identification can be done with a microscope.
Foliar nematodes can be easily spread by water (overhead, handwatering and capillary), so careful sanitation is necessary. Pruning and dividing equipment, infested soil or media, hands, and even tissue culture and other cultivation practices can also spread this pest.
Discarding infested plants are best options of control, and remove leaf litter from the plant itself and surrounding it (mulch and or soil). No chemicals have yet been completely effective in controlling a population (soil fumigations as a preplant are options in some nursery situations).
For Alternative Tree Suggestions and other information, click here.
As some of you may already know, the emerald ash borer (EAB) was discovered at an Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) campground 2 miles south of Greenville, Missouri in WayneCounty. The likely pathway of introduction was firewood. The official determination that it was EAB was made late Friday, July 25 by USDA entomologists in Beltsville, Maryland. Monday morning we convened our multi-agency Missouri emerald ash borer technical team to determine the next steps. Since we recently completed our Missouri Emerald Ash Borer Action Plan, we had a framework in place to guide us through this process.Late Monday afternoon we departed for WayneCounty to survey the campground and vicinity, as well as other State Parks and federal campgrounds in the county. To date, no signs of EAB have been found outside of the ACOE area. Suspect trees have been identified ¾ mile to the northwest of the positive trap, away from the campground, but still on ACOE land.
We will continue to have multi-agency crews on site to continue the survey efforts in the region. A common question has been “will it be mandated that all ash trees be removed around known infestation sites?”. Although the ACOE has expressed a desire to remove ash trees from their land in this vicinity to safeguard the surrounding area, this will not be required by impending state and federal quarantines of the area. Furthermore, unlike in neighboring states, the entire state of Missouri will NOT be quarantined at this time. It is likely that only WayneCounty will be quarantined at this time. We will be working with local industry representatives in that area to increase awareness of the quarantine. In the event that EAB is found in other areas of the state, the quarantine will be expanded only when and where necessary.
Outside of the quarantine area, sales of ash nursery stock or other ash products will not be prohibited. You will still be able to sell ash nursery stock within Missouri and to other states, as long as it did not originate from the quarantine area.
The insects were captured in a single trap at the ACOE Greenville campground.The trap used was a recently developed EAB purple sticky trap. Nearly 200 of these traps have been deployed in high risk sites around the state by USDA-APHIS-PPQ. To date, no other traps in Missouri have captured EAB. Adult flight of EAB appears to be over for this year so no more traps will be deployed in 2008. Furthermore, MDA and MDC have been conducting visual surveys at campgrounds, nurseries, and other high risk sites around the state with no finds to date. In addition to these survey methods, the University of Missouri has set up trap trees at selected locations in the state. Data from those trees will not be collected until later this year.Visual surveys for EAB have been ongoing in Missouri since 2004.
If you have questions or think you have a suspect insect or tree you may contact me at 573-751-5505 or Robert Lawrence, MDC Forest Entomologist, at 573-882-9909 ext. 3303. We will soon have an EAB hotline established that you can refer your nursery customers to. That information will be distributed as soon as it is available.
The emerald ash borer (EAB) has been found in Missouri .