Laurel wilt, a deadly and triumphant foe of millions of large redbay laurels, avocados and related trees, has arrived in St. Lucie and Martin counties, agricultural inspectors say.

Once a tree is infected, there is no cure and it dies in a matter of weeks, said the state’s leading expert, Bud Mayfield, an entomologist with the state Department of Agricultural and Consumer Affairs’ Division of Forestry. Prevention is considered nearly impossible, he said, because only one fungicide can treat it and the process is lengthy.

The disease, caused by a fungus carried on the ambrosia flying beetle that seeks out laurel and related species, entered the United States in 2003. It arrived from southeastern Asia at a Georgia port.

It leapfrogged its way south, reaching Indian River County in 2006.

In April, it was detected in St. Lucie County and confirmed in Martin County on June 30.

In Indian River county, Brian Combs, certified arborist and general manager of Bug Master in Vero Beach, said it took the disease about a year to kill 99 percent of the redbays and other trees susceptible to the wilt at Sebastian Inlet State Park. It has already spread to back yards. The cost to prevent it with fungicide runs about $250 and up per tree, he said.

The wilt has already devastated the redbay laurels and related trees in northern Florida.

“It’s been moving around so much that it’s almost impossible to control,” said Denise Feiber, spokeswoman for the state agricultural department’s Division of Plant Industry.

The wilt spreads south naturally at a rate of 20 to 30 miles a year, but humans move it hundreds of miles by transporting infected wood, Mayfield said.

On April 8, in Fort Pierce, state inspectors found a wilt-killed tree on the northbound side of Florida’s Turnpike at the Okeechobee Road exit. The disease carrier, the redbay ambrosia beetle, was first found in the county May 22 at the Harbor Ridge Golf Course on Seagrass Drive.

Recently, it was discovered by a master gardener in a north county Holiday Pines yard and spread to the neighboring yard. About 10 trees died, cooperative extension Agent Anita Neal said.

In Martin County, wilt was confirmed June 30 in the Lighthouse Point vicinity of Palm City, in the 1600 block of Dyer Point Road, Denise Feiber said. The ambrosia beetle itself was found May 12 in Sandsprit Park on St. Lucie Boulevard in Martin County.

A spokeswoman for Martin County Cooperative Extension said it has not been found elsewhere in the county.

Anyone who suspects wilt can call their cooperative extension and the state’s hotline at (888) 397-1517. Educational workshops in each county are in the planning stages.
Susan Burgess, TCPalm.com

Tags: avocado, dies, disease, entomologist, environment, extension, Florida, inlet, laurels, Okeechobee, trees, woods, yard

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