Eastern white pine problems

[stickbilt]

I have pines on my property and I notice that the leader has died on a lot of them. You can see that some of the trees leader died years ago because of the crook in the tree. I was looking through a grove of young pines today and about 50% of the trees have a dead leader. I have heard some years ago something about a "tip moth". If this is an insect that is doing the damage, can something be done about it.
 My hemlocks are suffering also but from something completely different. They are just plain dying. These are more landscape plants in my yard than potential timber.
 How safe is the timber industry from insect destruction?
Does the federal government get involved with this type of problem or is it up to each individual state?

                                               Thanks , Stickbilt

[Ron Scott]

Your eastern white pine and hemlock problems could be from a number of pests which should be specifically identified for possible control.

It sounds like the white pine may be infected by the White Pine Weevil, but it also might be the European or Red Headed Pine Sawfly. White Pine Blister Rust is also a possibility.

The Hemlock problem could be the Hemlock Looper. There have been outbreak conditions of this insect in northern New England since 1989. It also might be the Hemlock Bore or Hemlock Wooley Adelgid which has been reported in the Eastern States.

See the Forum Thread  at Forestry and Logging concerning the Hemlock Wooley Adelgid and information links.

For exact identification and possible controls for your tree problems contact your local Extension Agent, State DNR Service Forester, or the State Department of Agriculture. They are sources of help with such problems. The Feds usually help by providing funds through State & Private forestry at the State level.

Large forest tracks also have insect & disease problems but are handled on a larger scale as necessary if nature or the cyclic nature of the beast doesn't provide an efficient and more economic control. Needed controls are usually determined based on forest values.

Your individual landscape trees at your residence or within a community are usually valued much more than the many general forest trees. Therefore more immediate and direct control action may be taken as necessary.

[stickbilt]

Thanks Ron,
 Today I took a closer look at the dead leaders on the pines. They all have anywhere from one to four or five little horizontal holes bored through it. The holes are about 1/16 of an inch or maybe a hair bigger. The holes are only in the leader, not in any branches.
 The hemlocks just seem to get thinner and thinner till there gone.
 Thanks again for all the information,    Stickbilt

[Ron Wenrich]

My guess would be the White Pine weevil on the pine, and the wooly adelgid on the hemlock.

Pennsylvania and New York are having some pretty big problems with the adelgid.  No one is really all that excited about that, since hemlock is a low quality tree that is often left in the woods, or sprouts up in the understory and then is released by overstory removal.  Hemolck stumpage is usually about 10%-25% of red oak.

As for white pine, it is only important in certain markets.  Your New England pines are more valued since it is a red knot pine.  Further south those knots are black.  The red knots stay tight and don't fall out.  Makes for good knotty pine cabinets and paneling.  We have sold good white pine lumber for near red oak prices.

The pine weevil attacks only the leader.  Then usually one of the lateral branches takes over as a leader.  Sometimes there will be several that try to take over, but only one will become dominant.  This will put a crook in the tree, but rarely kill the tree.  During harvest, these crooks can often be bucked out.

Control is usually pretty hard.  If you control it on your property, it may drift in from a neighbors.

[Tim]

Something that the oldtimers talk about around in regards to the weevil is that if the pine is getting alot of direct sunlight, the weevil will attck the leader. Hence why "pasture pine" is so knotty and bushy. Even the mature pine will exhibit the attcks of the weevils but, at the top of 60 or 80 feet of tree its not as noticable.

Selective cutting to provide cover for the secondary canopy in white pine will limit the weevil attacks on regenerating timber and increase the future value of the bush.

[SwampDonkey]

Good advise Tim on the weevil. That's one of the controls people seem to suggest, since white pine is intermediate in tolarence to shading untill it reaches pole size. Some suggest that the mature trees are less susceptible because of the height, but I don't think tree height is going to affect an insect trying to perpetuate itself. Is it true there are some white pine that have been bread to resist the blister rust? If anyone has a link to such research I'de like to see it. I've never heard of anything published by Canadian Forestry Research. That's one disease that has been thoroughly researched in both Canada and the USA. One measure to reduce the chances of infection is to prune the lower limbs, but most infections I've seen is on the main stem. I know a field which was planted to white pine and what isn't weeviled has blister rust. Its a no win situation there. I planted white pine in the woods in shade and where I'm fairly certain there is no Ribies.