Ash dieback making inroads

A disease killing trees across Europe has been detected in Clare for the first time, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed. chalara fraxinea, commonly known as ash dieback, was first detected in Ireland back in October but was not known to have reached Clare until now.

 

The disease is having a serious impact in some areas of the country as harvesting ash for hurleys has been eliminated and there is an even bigger reliance on imported raw timber.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, announced on Wednesday that there are now 46 confirmed cases of the disease nationally. Of these, 26 are in forestry plantations in counties Clare, Galway, Carlow, Cavan, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Tipperary and Waterford.

As well as these cases, there are 14 horticultural nurseries that have tested positive for the disease; three samples from roadside landscaping have tested positive as well as one garden centre, one private garden and one farm.

In addition to the confirmed findings, other samples have been submitted on an ongoing basis to the laboratory and the results are awaited. 
At the time of going to press the Department of Agriculture had not confirmed the number of cases of ash dieback in Clare, when the first case was detected in the county or whether it was private, public or commercial forestry that is affected.

“My department has extended the scope of the survey work to cover ash plantations planted since 1992 and are also surveying AEOS and REPS plantings,” said Minister Coveney.

“I am conscious that this situation has presented difficulties for those that have had to remove and destroy ash plants but I believe that taking decisive action now on imported ash product is the correct approach to prevent the establishment of this disease in Ireland.”

According to Teagasc, ash dieback can affect ash trees of any age and in any setting. “The disease can be fatal, particularly among younger trees.” The disease causes foliage wilt, shoots dieback and elongated angular stem lesions.

“The disease is only in young forests, something around four or at most five years old. It is not affecting the older ash plantations,” said Michael Coughlan, IFA’s forestry representative.

“Anywhere ash dieback is found, the trees have to be removed and all the scrub around it removed and burned or disposed of. The farmer has to do all that and he cannot replant it with ash. There is no ash planting here at the moment. In Clare it will primarily be small areas that are affected.

There are not that many ash plantations here; they usually just form small areas of a plantation. It usually affects smaller saplings so they have to be taken up by the roots,” he explained.

Teagasc and the Department are advising that where ash dieback is suspected, farmers should immediately contact the Forest Service at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.