Almstead Tree Company Working With NYC Parks Department To Prevent Spread of Dutch Elm Disease

Arborist Justin Rawson, project manager for the Riverside Park project to prevent the spread of Dutch Elm Disease, and Ken Almstead, president of Almstead Tree & Shrub Care Company, recently inoculated a healthy elm at 89th and Riverside Drive. Photo: Almstead Tree & Shrub Care company

 

A canopy of majestic trees, one of North America?EUR??,,????'?????<

Almstead Tree & Shrub Care Company of New Rochelle has been hired by the Parks Department of the City of New York to help prevent the spread of Dutch Elm Disease in Riverside Park. If not properly managed, the disease can wipe out a large population of elms in a few years.

?EUR??,,????'?????<

Dutch Elm Disease was first identified in Holland in 1921, and has been in the U.S. for almost 80 years. The disease is usually spread from infected to healthy trees by the elm bark beetle, which crawls into the vascular tissue of a tree and lays its eggs there. Many cities lose between 3-8% of their elms, commonly located in parks and on streets, to the disease each year.

According to Ken Almstead of Almstead Tree, American Elms can grow as much as 80 feet high with a canopy that can spread as much as 60 feet across. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

In Riverside Park, there are two big groves of mature American Elms, one between 85th and 92nd Streets and another between 104th and 125th Streets. Of the 80 total trees, 14 have been removed this year. Almstead?EUR??,,????'?????<

During the inoculation, several holes are drilled into the base of the tree, and water carrying the inoculant is injected via a pump, explains Almstead arborist Justin Rawson, who is managing the Riverside Park project. The procedure, called macro-infusion, uses a product called Arbotect 20-S. The inoculant protects a tree for three years and has been proven to be more than 99% effective.

?EUR??,,????'?????<

Courtesy of The Gold Standard