Nov. 8, 2005

COLLEGE STATION – Many people cutting and collecting firewood should beware of transporting oak wilt, according to a Texas Cooperative Extension expert.

Bryan Davis, Extension agent in Hays County, said oak wilt can spread rapidly even after firewood has been cut.

"Cutting firewood from a tree that has oak wilt and leaving it near uninfected trees can be risky," he said. "When oak wilt attacks a live oak, there is a 90-percent chance it will (kill) the tree. With red oaks, you're guaranteed a 100-percent mortality rate."

Oak wilt is one of the most destructive tree diseases in the United States. It is responsible for killing more than 1 million trees in Central Texas alone, according to the Texas Forest Service.

It is caused by fungus spores, Ceratocystis fagacearum, that invade and spread through trees' vascular systems.

Oak wilt transfers from tree to tree through connected root systems, Davis said. It is also found in spore-bearing structures, called fungal mats, which grow under the bark of red oaks and are carried by sap-feeding beetles, nitidulids, to open wounds in healthy trees.

If a diseased red oak is cut, it might have fungal mat growth the following spring, according to Dr. David Appel, forestry pathologist with Extension and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in College Station.

"Only a small percentage of firewood will be hazardous," said Appel. "But given the enormous amount of firewood harvested in the Hill Country, the potential for (oak wilt) to spread to new areas is definitely high."

Gillespie, Kendall and Kerr counties are currently the most densely infected with oak wilt, said Kim Camilli, oak wilt coordinator for the Texas Forestry Service. The disease thrives in nearly all of Central Texas and can be spread when infected firewood is purchased and taken to an uninfected area.

Melanie Kirk, Extension urban forestry program specialist, said when fungus dries out, oak wilt can no longer spread. She recommends destroying trees that are alive and infected.

"If a tree is infected, it should be immediately removed, burned or buried," she said. "There is no harm in burning infected wood."

Appel said burning will kill the fungus, and the disease cannot spread through smoke. It is imperative to burn firewood the season it is purchased, before spring, to prevent fungal growth.

The following livestock, crop and weather conditions were reported by Extension districts:

PANHANDLE: Soil moisture is short. Temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average were reported. High winds caused soil erosion. Cotton was rated fair to good. Dry conditions allowed harvest to make progress. Yield reports were good to excellent. Peanut harvest was 85 percent complete; reported yields were good. Sorghum harvest was 60 percent complete. Soybean harvest was nearly complete. Sunflower harvest continued. A few wheat fields remained unplanted. Stands were in fair-to-good condition. Some fields were irrigated despite high energy costs. Rain was needed to allow recently planted dryland fields to germinate and emerged fields to survive. Rangelands were rated poor to fair; fire danger was high. Cattle were in good condition. Supplemental feeding continued to increase.

SOUTH PLAINS: Soil moisture is adequate. Good harvest conditions of warm temperatures and low humidity were reported. Cotton harvest was in full swing; yields continued to be excellent. Winter wheat was in fair to good condition. Pumpkin harvest was complete. Yields and prices were good this season. Sorghum harvest continued with good yields. Peanut harvest continued; above average yields were reported. Pastures and rangelands were in fair to good condition. Cattle were in good condition with limited supplemental feeding required.

ROLLING PLAINS: Soil moisture is short to adequate. Warm temperatures were reported. Cotton yields were disappointing. Livestock were in fair-to-good condition. The last light freeze killed most warm season plants. Pecans with no meat were reported. Fall wheat planting was 50 percent complete and moving quickly toward completion. Fire danger was increased due to dry conditions and high winds. Most stock tanks were extremely low or dry. Some ranchers repaired deserted windmills to water cattle.

NORTH: Soil moisture is very short to adequate. Very dry conditions hindered all agricultural activities. Cotton was rated poor to fair and 80 percent harvested. Wheat was in very poor to fair condition; Fields were 3 percent planted and emerged. Oats were 30 percent planted. Peanuts were 10 percent harvested. Pecans were 5 percent harvested. Soybeans were 85 percent harvested. Sweet potato harvest continued. Pastures and rangelands were rated very poor to poor. Many producers had fed hay for over one month. Stock tanks were dry or nearly dry. Livestock was sold due to lack of stored winter supplementation.

EAST TEXAS: Soil moisture is short. Rain was reported. Some winter pastures were planted, but most are still too dry. Some emerged winter pasture grasses were showing signs of drought stress. Temperatures were too cool for warm-season grasses to respond. Hay supplies were short. Cattle remained in fair to good condition. Markets remained steady. Supplemental feeding continued. Pecan harvest was wrapping up; quality was fair. Cotton harvest was almost complete. Most counties were reporting rainfall shortages of up to 14 inches.

FAR WEST: Soil moisture is poor to good. Cotton was rated fair to good; 80 percent of bolls were open and 12 percent of fields were harvested. Winter Wheat was in fair-to-good condition. Sorghum was 75 percent harvested. Oats were rated fair and completely emerged. Pecan harvest was delayed until a hard leaf-killing freeze occurred. Rangelands needed moisture. Cattle faired well on cool season weeds and some native grasses. Prices declined and heifer replacement numbers grew.

WEST CENTRAL: Soil moisture is very short. Unseasonably warm days, cool nights and rain were reported. Most areas were extremely dry with burn bans in effect. Small-grain planting continued. Some fields were replanted for grazing due to drought die-off. Cotton harvest and ginning continued; above average yields were reported. Rangelands and pastures needed moisture to continue growth. Livestock were in good condition. Supplemental feeding was in full swing. Hay supplies were currently good; producers may have to pursue other winter feeding options due to the dry fall. Pecans dropped at an increased rate. Harvest was in full swing, but it was progressing slowly because most trees only had partial shuck split. Dry conditions aggravated this problem.

CENTRAL: Soil moisture is very short. The fall is being reported as one of the worst in a long time. Only irrigated crops are growing. Milk production was good with cool nights and no rain. Almost all beef producers were feeding short-rationed hay. Hay producers reported 50 to 75 percent crop losses. Armyworms were reported.

SOUTHEAST: Soil moisture is short. Rainfall was reported. Cool nighttime temperatures stopped seasonal grass growth. Winter annual planting started. Hay making halted due to dry conditions. Pecans were harvested; reported yields are low. Ponds and lakes were low.

SOUTHWEST: Soil moisture is very short. Onion planting was underway. Spinach, cabbage, pickling cucumbers, green beans and other fall vegetables made good progress with cool weather and heavy irrigation. Land was ready for planting, but high energy costs and low moisture conditions discouraged small grain planting. Some rye grass, wheat and oats were planted. Cotton ginning continued behind schedule. Pecan harvest gained momentum. Fifty percent of the crop was harvested. Peanut harvest was 70 percent complete; slightly above average yields were reported. Pickling cucumber, cabbage and green bean harvest gained momentum. Green bean yields were way below average. Large infestations of whiteflies in cabbage were reported. Deer hunting season opened. Hunter and hunting preparations dominated ranching activities.

COASTAL BEND: Soil moisture is short. Cooler weather was reported. The second rice crop was harvested. Producers performed weed control. Hay production was finished. Supplemental livestock feeding continued. Pecans were harvested.

SOUTH: Soil moisture is short. Mild temperatures were reported. Field preparations continued. Vegetable crops progressed well. Sugarcane, citrus and some vegetable harvest continued. Onion and tomato crops did well. Early planted cabbage was harvested. Forage quality was high. Haying operations were active. Supplemental feeding continued.