AND THEN THERE WERE MAPLES

Many of the beeches on my tree farm are infected with disease (cyrptococcus fagisuga /neonectria spp) and it appears to me to be as bad as it sounds.  Blemishes, warts, pimples and white spots that look like a fungus are easily spotted on the bark of the tree.  At first, I would wait until these symptoms appeared and then would harvest the tree for firewood for my use and my many friends who also burned wood.  Then the situation got worse as the beeches would seed themselves in clearings and on my woods roads.  As they grew at what seemed like a rapid pace the branches would extend as if they were searching for sunlight as a way of healing themselves.  Anyone who has been slapped on the face by a beech whip on a cold winter day while walking or skiing in the woods will realize my grave concern about my woods being taken over by this problem.

My research showed the problem could be solved three ways – chemical, biological or mechanical.  Being a fan of the physical, of course, I chose cutting the whips with a chainsaw.  It amazes me how much area one man can clear in a few hours.  The sight of healthy maples and ash made my project very worthwhile.  At first, I was concerned that new growth from the stump would grow again and I might need to use an herbicide like glyphosate to control any new growth on the stumps.   But to my amazement the deer have kept the new growth completely at bay and we have a win - win situation.