Latest Sordariomycetes Stories
WOBURN, Mass., Jan. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Destructive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) continued to wreak havoc on America's urban forests this past year, but preventative tree treatments from Arborjet have helped to stem the damaging tide. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/NE52224 ) The effects of these invasive tree pests and diseases are devastating. Since its arrival from Asia in 2002, EAB has destroyed over 60 million ash trees to date in the...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online An enormous international team of experts, almost 500 members strong, has developed a ranking system of the ten most important phytopathogenic fungi on a scientific and economic level. Topping the list is the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. A survey conducted among the researchers resulted in a list of the most important phytopathogenic fungi, with each researcher choosing three that he or she thought most significant. The...
Scientists at the University of Guelph have found a way to successfully clone American elm trees that have survived repeated epidemics of their biggest killer — Dutch elm disease. The breakthrough is the first known use of in vitro culture technology to clone buds of mature American elm trees. "This research has the potential to bring back the beloved American elm population to North America," said Prof. Praveen Saxena, a plant scientist who worked on the project with Professor Alan...
WOBURN, Mass., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- "Timber Investors are Hurting"; "Energy Costs are Rising"; "Neighborhoods Stand Stripped of Trees". These headlines may sound like the effects of a poor economy, but all are occurring in no small part because destructive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) are wreaking havoc on trees across the country. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120222/NE57783) The damage these invasive...
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have characterized the molecular mechanism behind some plants' ability to resist rice blast, a fungal disease that affects cereal grain crops such as rice, wheat, rye and barley and can cause yield losses of up to 30 percent. The fungus has been found in 85 countries worldwide, including the United States. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant pathologist Yulin Jia at the agency's Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart,...
WOBURN, Mass., Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Now is the time of year to ensure that the beautiful trees in your yard will remain healthy and produce a vibrant, green canopy come springtime by treating them against insects, fungus and diseases. If trees are not cared for, these pests can cause your trees to look sick and possibly die next year. The removal and replacement of a mature tree is an expensive proposition for homeowners, easily costing over $1,000 per tree. Consider this: the...
In a demonstration of "reverse-ecology," biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that one can determine an organism's adaptive traits by looking first at its genome and checking for variations across a population.The study, published the week of Jan. 31 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers a powerful new tool in evolutionary genetics research, one that could be used to help monitor the effects of climate change and habitat...
Arborists in Wisconsin say action must be taken to protect oak trees in the southeastern portion of the state from spreading oak wilt disease. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Sunday while oak wilt disease has been present in Wisconsin for a long time, the cousin of Dutch elm disease has been becoming more prevalent in the state of late. It's getting worse and worse, tree care consultant David Farina said of the ongoing spread of oak wilt disease, which is spread via the trees' roots or...
The tick-tock of your biological clock may have just gotten a little louder.Researchers at the University of Georgia report that the number of genes under control of in living things than suspected only a few years ago. The biological clock in a much-studied model organism is dramatically higher than previously reported. The new study implies that the clock may be much more important"This new finding may help to explain why the clock is so far-reaching in its effects on the...
The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) today announced that an SRS scientist and other researchers have officially named the fungus responsible for killing redbay and other trees in the coastal plains of northeastern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.Lead author and Iowa State University Plant Pathologist Tom Harrington, co-author and SRS Plant Pathologist Stephen Fraedrich, and Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences Researcher D.N. Aghayeva unveiled the name, Raffaelea...
