Agriculture

Elm pruning ban starts April 1

it is important to properly prune all dead wood out of elms and dispose of all pruned elm wood and elm firewood by burning, burying or chipping by March 31. Stored elm wood can harbour the elm bark beetles that can carry DED.

“Elm bark beetles are responsible for spreading the deadly DED fungus. They feed on healthy elms and breed in dead and dying elm trees,” says Janet Feddes-Calpas, STOPDED executive director.

“If elm trees are pruned during the pruning ban period, beetles that are active at this time can be attracted to the scent of the fresh wound and possibly infect an otherwise healthy elm with DED.

(for the full article visit https://www. alberta.ca/agri-news.aspx)