09/18/2009

Learn About Emerald Ash Borer, How to ID Ash Trees at Farm Science Review Sept. 22-24

Writer:

Mauricio Espinoza
espinoza.15@osu.edu
(330) 202-3550

Source:

Amy Stone, OSU Extension
stone.91@cfaes.osu.edu
(419) 392-1308

LONDON, Ohio — No other insect has made so many headlines in the past few years and created as much concern as emerald ash borer (EAB) — the voracious invasive beetle that has killed millions of ash trees in Ohio and neighboring states. At this year’s Farm Science Review, Sept. 22-24 in London, Ohio, you will have the opportunity to learn more about this exotic pest, know if it has infested your trees, and become an expert at identifying ash trees.

Because EAB can kill both healthy and stressed trees, it’s important to know the signs and symptoms of an infestation so you can spot it early on — when there’s still time to treat your trees if you choose to do so. But before you go out on an EAB hunt, you need to know whether or not you have ash trees on your property.

Members of the Ohio State University EAB Outreach Team will be available at Farm Science Review’s Gwynne Conservation Area to help you learn how to ID both ash trees and EAB infestations.

Kathy Smith, an OSU Extension forestry program director, will show you “The Secrets of Tree ID” on Thursday, Sept. 24, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Smith will take you on a walk around the Gwynne and share tips on how to distinguish one tree species from another, ash included.

If you can’t make it to Smith’s presentation, look around the Molly Caren Agricultural Center and Gwynne grounds: some ash trees have been tagged with colorful ribbons to draw attention to the EAB issue and to assist you in identifying these popular shade trees, which account for 10 percent of Ohio’s total tree population.

Also on tap at this year’s Farm Science Review is “Seeing Green: An Emerald Ash Borer Update,” Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 24, from 1-1:30 p.m. Amy Stone, an OSU Extension horticulture educator, will share the latest information on where EAB is in Ohio and what purple detection traps have uncovered. You will also learn how to become an EAB “spotter.”

Ash tree identification resources are also available online. An OSU Extension fact sheet, “Are My Trees Ash?” is available at http://ashalert.osu.edu (under the Factsheets/Bulletins section of the Web site).

Farm Science Review is sponsored by Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, OSU Extension, and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). It attracts upwards of 140,000 visitors from all over the country and Canada, who come for three days to peruse 4,000 product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors, and learn the latest in agricultural research, conservation, family and nutrition, and gardening and landscape.

Tickets are $8 at the gate or $5 in advance when purchased from county offices of OSU Extension or participating agribusinesses. Children 5 and younger are admitted free. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 22-23 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 24.

For more information, log on to http://fsr.osu.edu. Farm Science Review is also on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/OhioStateFSR), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/FarmScienceReview), and Ning (http://fsrosu.ning.com).

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