Fact Sheet

Oak Wilt

Have you noticed sudden leaf drop in oak trees in your yard or neighborhood—even when they seemed healthy earlier in the season?

This could be a sign of oak wilt.

The Problem

Oak wilt is a serious fungal disease that spreads either underground through connected tree roots or aboveground by sap beetles carrying spores from infected trees. The disease moves quickly through red oaks and more slowly through white oaks, often in combination with other pests or diseases.

Symptoms and signs include:

Sudden leaf wilting, followed by rapid leaf drop
Even defoliation across the canopy
Dark streaks under the bark of infected branches
Spore mats on the trunk of dead trees that split the bark and emit a sweet, fermenting odor

Co-occurring issues or look-alike symptoms:
Two-lined chestnut borer, bur oak blight, anthracnose, and armillaria root rot.

The Vineland Prescription

For oak wilt treatment, provide a therapeutic injection with removal of infected branch 2-3 weeks later.
Disease-killed trees and debris should be removed and destroyed.
Any stumps not ground should be de-barked to ground level.

The Prognosis

Preventative treatment is effective at keeping trees from contracting the disease. Therapeutic techniques can be effective at saving trees after
they contract the disease.

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