U of M researchers are planting ‘survivor’ trees in hopes of defeating Dutch elm disease

The trees planted last week at Boutwells Landing senior living society in Oak Park Heights have a big job To help revitalize the state s elm population The American elm trees each about years old and to feet tall were cloned by University of Minnesota researchers to be resistant to Dutch elm complaint a fungal sickness that killed millions of elm trees around the world In the late s there were million American elms with diameters greater than inches in Minnesota Dutch elm sickness killed percent of them leaving behind fewer than big elms according to U researchers Ryan Murphy and Ben Held co-investigators on the U s disease-resistant elm selection and reintroduction activity want to revive the population On May they got several help from Boutwells Landing residents David Lime and Neal Kingsley both U S Forest System veterans who participated in the three-hour planting project Soon after Lime moved to Boutwells Landing three years ago he pitched the idea of starting a nursery in the southeast corner of the -acre property to help offset the loss of ash trees from emerald ash borer Boutwells Landing bureaucrats expressed interest and Lime who worked for years in the Forest System s experiment station on the St Paul campus and later taught at the U s College of Forestry started looking for places giving away trees and people who were researching trees where we could invite them to plant several trees on our property he reported Lime connected with Kingsley and the two met with Rob Venette director of the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center at the U of M and research biologist with the U S Forest Facility Northern Research Station He connected them with Murphy and Held It was just one of those things where they had space and we were looking for places and it just was the right connection Murphy announced Hardy elms survived Dutch elm disorder is caused by a fungus that can be spread by a bark beetle or through two trees that have interconnected roots Beetles reared in infected trees emerge from the diseased wood carrying spores which they then deposit into healthy trees by feeding on the young twigs The fungus triggers reactions that block the tree s vascular system which prevents it from getting water and nutrients normally and it becomes wilted leading to rapid death Murphy announced Fortunately Dutch elm illness didn t kill every elm tree in the state Selected very hardy survivor elms were left behind Oftentimes they re the only elm tree left in an area where everything else has died Murphy mentioned Revealed Venette It s just a matter of a random mutation that happens to occur in these trees In general the species as a whole is highly susceptible but it s just these very lucky individual trees that have natural resistance Researchers are using the survivor elms from around the state identified by forestry administrators arborists and private landowners to grow Dutch elm disease-resistant trees Here s how it works Researchers visit the survivor elm in the wintertime and take the branch tips and then grow a tree genetically identical to that elm You take that tissue from that twig and you graft it onto a rootstock announced Murphy who also manages the U of M s Urban Forestry Outreach Research Lab which provides training about trees to communities around the state Related Articles Urban fires can mean long trips for helicopters to get water One firefighter had a better idea Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power speed up approvals Louisiana stifles neighborhood air monitoring with threat of million-dollar fines federal lawsuit says Trees killed by caterpillar outbreak helped to fuel Minnesota wildfires NOAA predicts above average number of storms in hurricane season starting June The cloned trees are then planted back in the landscape either at the St Paul campus or at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen to confirm that they really are resistant and that they weren t just lucky and got missed by the bark beetles Venette mentioned Once the tree is propagated it can take five to seven years to get to a size where it can be inoculated with the pathogen Murphy commented We then drill a hole into the main stem of the tree inject the tree with concentrated spores of the fungus which causes the illness and wait to see its effect he noted To find one resistant cultivar it could easily take years If the tree survives inoculation with the fungus researchers will then propagate more of them and plant those at different test sites around the state because we have more evidence to suggest that they are truly resistant he announced Multiple sites Robert Venette from left Ben Held Ryan Murphy Kyle Rue Johannes Dufault and Neal Kingsley gather to plant elm trees in a field at Boutwells Landing senior living population in Oak Park Heights on Friday May Courtesy of Boutwells Landing The resistant elms are being planted at Boutwells Landing Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Elm Creek Park Reserve and in the Minnesota River Valley Researchers plan yearly follow-up visits to assess the tree performance the trees are expected to grow several feet each year Murphy explained Fifteen more trees will be planted in a forested area at Boutwells Landing that was impacted by emerald ash borer an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees Ash trees were planted in various urban forests in Minnesota to replace elm trees decimated by Dutch elm illness Venette mentioned It s all part of growing a more diversified urban forest he declared We ve nearly come full circle The research project at Boutwells Landing is expected to last somewhere between five and years because we really are trying to understand how well these trees get established and what factors might be affecting their survival and advance Venette reported The research project funded by the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center started in January An earlier U of M research project on growing Dutch-elm resistant trees received in funding from the center and was completed in The center was formed in to coordinate the U s research into invasive insects and land-based plants It is funded by the state s Climate and Natural Information Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Guidance The center which has four employees has an annual budget of Engaging people in science Leaders were thrilled when Murphy and Held proposed the project announced Heather Koop the Invasive Terrestrial Plants and Pests Center s associate operation director When we can get a piece of research to that point of implementation that s the gold standard for us that s how we really like to measure our success she commented So often we see research that is done that never really gets to that next stage Because this is all publicly funded we feel very strongly that this research necessities to be in the society realm and people need to understand it and how to use it Hopefully they ll apply it and hopefully we ll see better management options available for different invasive species Another plus The project engages people in science she disclosed You have these folks who are super-eager to help us out and that just makes me really happy In addition to having a minimal retired foresters Boutwells Landing has a very rich society of folks who are interested in science Venette mentioned They reached out and required about opportunities to engage in collaborative work related to trees and we just happen to have this project that was a nice fit Researchers worked with teens from the Green Crew the youth project of the Izaak Walton League s Minnesota Valley chapter to plant trees in Bloomington on Earth Day so it was fitting to work with seniors on the Boutwells Landing project Venette mentioned It really shows the breadth of interest in this kind of work he reported Related Articles Woodbury East Ridge coach on leave following document of racial slur Inmate rights groups demand say in Stillwater prison closure plan Pioneer Press patio guide Wring every second out of summer at these Twin Cities spots Pioneer Press patio guide Along the water and scenic spots Truck driver tells trooper he was distracted by map before Washington County fatal crash Lime who walks or drives past the new trees at least once a day declared the project is giving staff and residents at Boutwells Landing a chance to learn about the role of science in helping solve serious natural-resource problems and how they can help bring American elm trees back to the Minnesota and Upper Midwest landscape he stated The idea is that if we can re-establish them in Minnesota maybe we can do it in other states Kingsley explained Bringing them back would be great because they were beautiful Although Kingsley knows he may not be around to see whether the experiment was a success he mentioned he is happy to have played a part My grandfather built fishing schooners and I remember as a kid growing up seeing a ship that my grandfather helped build he noted It was nice Maybe my grandkids or great-grandkids will say See that tree Bamp helped plant that That would be kind of nice