Fungal disease hits willow trees in Himachal
March 8th, 2011 - 6:58 pm ICT by IANSShimla, March 8 (IANS) A fungal disease has seriously affected willow plantations in forests of Himachal Pradesh’s remote Lahaul Valley, prompting the government to consider introducing new varieties of the tree, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said Tuesday.
“It’s a serious issue. It’s mainly due to monoculture. The trees were found infected with Cytospora chrysosperma pathogen and giant willow aphid (pest),” said Dhumal, who also holds the forest portfolio.
He told the state assembly that studies conducted by various government agencies, including the Shimla-based Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), found that the pathogen spread mainly in those areas where there were excess moisture conditions.
“Trials are on to introduce new willow varieties in the affected areas. For this, germ plasm of six willow species have been collected from Jammu and Kashmir and trials are on in nurseries,” he said.
Dhumal said the disease was reported for the first time in the state in 1997-98 in Gondla and Jangla villages in the Lahaul Valley in Lahaul and Spiti district.
Raising the issue in the house, Ram Lal Markanda said thousands of trees have been affected by the disease.
Lahaul and Spiti district, mainly dominated by the tribals, has 12 species of willows, including Salix acutifolia, Salix alba and Salix fragilis. These were planted in 1880 in areas close to water channels and water bodies.
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Tags: chief minister, excess moisture, forest research institute, fungal disease, germ plasm, jammu and kashmir, lahaul and spiti district, moisture conditions, pathogen, salix alba, salix fragilis, shimla, spiti, state assembly, tribals, water bodies, water channels, willow species, willow trees, willow varieties