<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><META content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" http-equiv=Content-Type></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>MPWG:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Bipolaris fungus has again appeared in central WV.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The first Microstegium plants started to germinate in mid April and within
two weeks seedlings were starting to sport Bipolaris lesions. In many
locations the lower blades of the stiltgrass plants had already died and in a
few areas the plants appeared to die almost as soon as they germinated.
The photo below was taken in an area that is at the leading edge of a SG
invasion....hopefully the end of a SG invasion.</DIV>
<DIV><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1305557778@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 320px" vspace=5 width=480 height=320 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="62454" ID="MA1.1305557778" ></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA2.1305557778@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 320px" vspace=5 width=480 height=320 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="70245" ID="MA2.1305557778" ></DIV>
<DIV>In some areas nearly every individual stiltgrass plant was showing signs of
infection by Bipolaris within two weeks of gernination. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>By mid May the infection has spread throughout this
population. In many areas the stiltgrass is becoming non
competitive as the foliage dies back and the surrounding native vegetation
overtakes and dominates the ground cover.</DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA3.1305557778@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 320px" vspace=5 width=480 height=320 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="48314" ID="MA3.1305557778" ></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>The "persistent" thatch produced by stiltgrass that lives through its' full
life cycle appears to rot very quickly in the face of a Bipolaris
infection. There are some areas where Bipolaris has been active for
several years and neither thatch or healthy Mv seedlings are present.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA4.1305557778@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 320px" vspace=5 width=480 height=320 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="41993" ID="MA4.1305557778" ></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For people wishing to see Bipolaris in action, we will be hosting a program
at Crummies Creek Demonstration Forest in cooperation with the West Virginia
University Extension, the Woodland Owners Association of WV and the
National Woodland Owners Association on Saturday June 25 and some of the
session will involve visits to areas where Bipolaris has been active for several
years as well as areas subjected to annual mechanical control for over ten
years. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Special permits to move Bipolaris infected plants to other parts of
West Virginia are available through the WV Department of Agriculture.
Intentional movement of diseased plants from WV is possible as long as a permit
is obtained from APHIS. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>However, Bipolaris, which appears to be native to the central Appalachians
showed up in Maryland and Virginia last year and the wet spring of 2011 has not
hampered the spread of the fungus so it should be expected in more locations
this summer.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Look for additional updates as the growing season progresses.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sincerely,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Russ Richardson, Certified Forester</DIV>
<DIV>PO Box 207</DIV>
<DIV>Arnoldsburg, WV 25234</DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>