A group of sixth-grade students didn't stop at hugging a beloved tree at Mt. Madonna County Park, they came equipped to administer life-saving treatment, according to a story in yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel. The Mt. Madonna School students are aiming to protect a tanoak believed to be among the largest in California from Sudden Oak Death.
The children were led by their teacher, James Rohan, who attended a UC Berkeley training session with foresters and nursery owners to learn how to treat at-risk trees. According to the Sentinel story, the students drilled 20 small holes around the tree's trunk, injected them with Agri-Fos and plugged the holes with clay.
Agri-Fos is the only proven remedy for SOD, researchers say. It works by boosting a tree's natural defenses. It is not a cure, but it can help protect trees from getting infected and suppress disease progression in very early infections.
Reporter Roger Sideman spoke to UC Davis forest pathologist David Rizzo about the Agri-Fos treatment. Rizzo said that, at a cost of $200 per tree, Agri-Fos is not practical for saving an entire forest, but the treatment's cost seems more reasonable to homeowners who risk property damage and the expense of removal if a large tree dies.
Rizzo tells homeowners that their trees are at particular risk if they are positioned near rhododendrons or bay laurel trees, both carriers of the pathogen that causes sudden oak death, the story said.