[MassChestnutOrchards] ma-tacf chestnut question from Meiklejohn

[Fred Hebard]

Hi all,

Copper is not systemic in plants at high enough concentrations to be  
fungitoxic, so is ineffective against established blight cankers.  It  
is used as a protectant for various leaf spots and twig blights,  
preventing spores deposited on the leaf or twig from germinating and  
infecting.  Germination and infection have already occurred with an  
established blight canker.  The most famous example of the use of  
copper in a fungicide is "Bordeaux mixture," originally formulated  
around 1880, with sulphur and lime, to prevent downy mildew of grape,  
but efficacious against a wide variety of plant pathogens.  Copper- 
based fungicides have been superseded by ones based on organic  
chemicals, in most cases, outside "organic" agriculture.

The "active ingredient" in mud packs is biological, as indicated by  
pasteurization destroying the efficacy of the mud.  There are  
probably numerous microorganism responsible for the efficacy of  
mudpacks; B. subtilis is one that has been isolated and may be  
efficacious independent of the mud.

Fred

Frederick V. Hebard, PhD
Staff Pathologist, Meadowview Research Farms
American Chestnut Foundation
14005 Glenbrook Ave.
Meadowview, VA 24361

Email: Fred at acf.org
Web: http://www.acffarms.org
Phone: (276) 944-4631
Fax: (276) 944-0934


On Jun 14, 2009, at 10:53 PM, johnviolin7 at aol.com wrote:

> John,
>
> Various copper formulations have been used as fungicide on plants for
> some time. Ditto sulpher. There is currently a "Liquid Copper"one in
> Johnny's seed catalogue advertised as being in an "organically  
> approved
> formulation".
>
> Was the white powder kaolin, a fine clay (actually the basis for
> Kaopectate) which we were using to improve the water retention and
> stickiness of mudpacks? -and the secret ingredient in magic mud-  Or
> was it B subtilis?   J Emery
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Meiklejohn <j.johnmeiklejohn at comcast.net>
> To: CBZampini at aol.com
> Cc: masschestnutorchards at masschestnut.org
> Sent: Sun, Jun 14, 2009 6:36 pm
> Subject: [MassChestnutOrchards] ma-tacf chestnut question from
> Meiklejohn
>
>
>
> Hi Charlotte,
>
>
>
> I have several questions.  Yesterday, I visited a chestnut [~5"dhb] on
> the property of Dr. Wayne Fowles, a veterinarian in Westfield.  I had
> visited it for the first time last year when it was in good  
> health.  He
> had me come back because he thought it was beginning to show signs of
> the blight.  The tree is still very healthy to a casual glance but,
> indeed, the trunk about 8' up was starting to crack dramatically and
> showed some concave signs but no discoloration on the bark.  As a
> treatment we did two things:  wiped the area thoroughly with a Clorox
> wet wipe, at his suggestion, and then I used your method of the mud
> pack mixed with the white powd
> er you gave me wrapping the mud pack in
> saran wrap and then with duct tape, top and bottom.
>
>
>
> This process got me thinking about several blight treatment issues.
> Here are my questions:
>
>     1.  What is the "mystery" white powder that I was applying in the
> mud pack?  Over the winter it had become moisture-laden.  Should I get
> a fresh supply from you to apply to the diseased trees in my orchard
> this season?  I still have more of the old supply.
>
>
>
>     2.  Since bleach, i.e. Clorox, kills fungi is there any purpose to
> wiping or spraying the infected area of a  tree with a bleach solution
> independent of or before applying the mudpack?  My layman's thought is
> that a spray will penetrate the bark and cracks more readily than a
> mudpack and might enhance the effect of a mudpack if applied first.
>
>
>
>     3.  Dr. Fowles indicated that copper sulphate is used to treat a
> fungal disease in horses [thrush].  He indicated it might be useful in
> treating fungal diseases across species including in trees.  He
> wondered, and so do I, if anyone has tried using copper sulphate to
> weaken or slow chestnut blight.  Any thoughts on this?  Would you
> advise trying this on diseased trees in my orchard?  I'm game to try
> anything that seems reasonable or that hasn't already been ruled  
> out as
> useless.
>   Dr. Fowles said he could obtain some copper sulphate solution
> for me.
>
>
>
> Look forward to hearing from you.  Hope the innoculations are going
> apace and that you are getting plenty of help.
>
>
>
> John Meiklejohn
>
>
>
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