New hope for tackling ash dieback as researchers claim charcoal treatment makes trees more resilient
“A fungal disease that is strangling the life out of Britain’s 80 million ash trees could be thwarted by the discovery of a natural soil treatment.
A newly developed “enriched biochar”, which combines a purified form of charcoal with fungi, seaweed and worm casts could help ash trees resist devastating ash dieback, according to research by tree and shrub care company Bartlett Tree Experts.
A study by the company’s research labs on 2,000 established ash trees over three years in Essex found that while a third of the established trees monitored have become infected with Chalara, none of the 20 trees which had enriched biochar applied to their roots were hit.”
I think that there will prove to be many plant diseases that can be cured with a dose of microbes (fungi in this case) and if char is the carrier for those microbes, then all to the good for biochar.
In the case of Kauri dieback disease, it too is a fungal infection (Phytophthora agathidicida).
Dr Stephen Ford is the speaker for the Franklin Presentation at the Tree Crops Assoc National Conference (see http://TreeCropsConference.nz) here in Pukekohe in April (22nd – 24th). One of the topics he will cover (the use of biological controls for pest and disease management) is the work that his company (Biotelliga) has done to commercialise the ‘cure’ for Kauri die back that was developed at Auckland University. Not sure how that cure is to be applied in practice but I shall talk to him about a possible role for inoculated biochar in that area.
More news on ash die-back and biochar as a possible solution…
1) British Biochar Foundation newsletter: http://us13.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1ccb99c362ddca4ff5ded51a3&id=4467940b88
2) http://www.onemk.co.uk/Alternative-help-save-trees-Milton-Keynes-ash/story-29329825-detail/story.html