Good woodland management is the key to overcoming concerns about bleeding canker in the UK’s horse chestnut population, according to the Forestry Commission.
A study by the Forestry Commission has found that 49% of those trees inspected as part of a study last year showed signs that “indicate or might indicate bleeding canker”, which manifest as lesions on the tree that ooze liquid.
This can lead to the death of the tree or forced removal due to safety concerns, while others recover.
“The key things are to encourage tree owners and woodland managers to practice good woodland management and tree care to ensure maximum tree health,” said Roddie Burgess, head of the commission’s plant health service.
“The healthier a tree is, the better it is able to withstand attacks by pests and disease.”
Media coverage has claimed that the extent of the infection could be on the scale of the Dutch elm disease epidemic, which killed around 25 million elms in the second half of the 20th century,
However, the Forestry Commission said that the situation is still not clear and that it would take its time before deciding on further action.
“We don’t yet know the total number of horse chestnut trees in Britain affected by bleeeding canker or how many of the symptoms seen in the survey will eventually prove to have been caused by bleeding canker,” said Mr Burgess.
“We will therefore carefully consider the results of the survey and their implications before deciding what further steps we can take.”
