The Emerald ash borer (EAB), is native to a very large geographic area of East Asia that includes northeast China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia and the Russian Far East. In its home range EAB is a minor, not particularly common secondary pest that attacks stressed trees of the local species of ash, predominately Chinese and Manchurian ash. Before 2002, EAB had never been found outside of its...
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), also known as EAB, is an invasive insect pest from Asia that has killed millions of trees in the United States and Canada and has caused billions of dollars of damage since it was discovered in 2002. Fortunately, its damage has been limited to ash trees—or so we thought.
Since the discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) in 2002, the news of the infestation has been bleak. Containment efforts have failed to stop the relentless spread of this ash-killing pest and billions of trees are at risk.
Now that the dust is settling after the initial infestation in the Midwest, scientists are able to research whether any ash trees were able to survive....
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), working collaboratively with scientists funded by The American Chestnut Foundation, have helped confirm that addition of a wheat gene increases the blight resistance of American chestnut trees.
With the leaves long gone from the trees, now is the ideal time to check ash trees for any sign of the emerald ash borer.
The bug, which originated in Michigan in 2002 after likely coming in ash wood used in packing or crating from Russia, China, Japan or Korea, can destroy ash trees, weakening them beyond repair.
“Right now with the leaves off, you can really see damage by wood...