Development of an outreach plan for thousand cankers disease: Spread the information, not the fungus

Black walnut, Juglans nigra, is an important tree, both economically and culturally, and it is widely grown and valued for its wood and its nuts. Thousand cankers disease (TCD), caused primarily by the fungus Geosmithia morbida vectored by the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, was discovered in the native range of black walnut in 2010. TCD is a devastating threat to black walnut and has the potential to lead to the extinction of this important tree species if effective management plans are not developed and implemented quickly. In western states, TCD has killed thousands of non-native black walnut trees, and in Tennessee, which represents the first documentation of this beetle and its associated pathogen, G. morbida, in the native range of black walnut, tree mortality and decline have already been observed. TCD has been documented in seven counties in Tennessee, and this disease was found in Pennsylvania and Virginia in 2011 and in North Carolina in 2012. State quarantines have been enacted in all four states to curtail the spread and impact of this deadly disease. Unfortunately, the general public is not very aware of the problem, its potential impact, or mitigation efforts.

The overall goal of this project is to develop a regional Outreach Plan that involves the development and implementation of outreach tools and programs (web-based materials, educational displays, pamphlets, posters, fact sheets, technical papers and presentations, workshops, field days, news media outlets, etc.) to inform growers, industry, scientists, regulators, and the general public of the issues surrounding TCD in the native range of black walnut, as well as to train students to be more knowledgeable in the workforce. All investigators and collaborators will participate in various aspects and types of outreach activities to provide essential information to a wide range of stakeholders. The short-term expectations of the Outreach Plan are to ensure that information and solutions are delivered in a timely and effective manner and that this expanded knowledge will jump start initiatives to develop more effective and more efficient management strategies to mitigate the spread and impacts of TCD. The specific purpose of this poster is to share information about our TCD Outreach Plan.