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Entomologist Mark Whitmore begins cutting the bark of a tree.
Entomologist Mark Whitmore begins cutting the bark of a tree.

Presentation held on saving ash trees

Fri, Oct 7th 2016 04:05 pm

There are 42 ash trees in Town Commons, most of them green ash trees. Wednesday's presentation in Grand Island Town Hall on the emerald ash borer, sponsored by the Conservation Advisory Board and Grand Island's Emerald Ash Borer Task Force, was preceded by a walk through Town Commons. According to Mark Whitmore, an entomologist from Cornell University, "It is really sad. All of the ash trees are infested. They will die without treatment. Only a few can be saved."

He said the town should focus on "saving magnificent individuals." He advocates using insecticides to save the trees and he suggested treating the trees in the spring.

Whitmore said the best chemical has the brand name "TREE-äge." The chemical is injected directly into the tree's vascular system, and it must be applied by a certified arborist. The chemical protects the tree from the emerald ash borer in its larval state.

 

Evidence of emerald ash borer infestation can be seen beneath the bark, as the insect, in its larval stage, eats the tree's underbark, disrupting the tree's ability to move nutrients. In an area where there is a high population of insects, trees can die in two to three years of first being infested.

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