Learn How To Spot Sudden Oak Death In The East Bay

The annual spring "blitz" by volunteers to record cases of sudden oak death has taken on new urgency on this side of the East Bay hills this year.

"What we saw last year was really an explosion," said Matteo Garbelotto, whose UC Berkeley lab conducts the campaign to track and restrain the spread of the pathogen that has killed millions of oaks and tanoaks in California.

There's still no cure for sudden oak death, though there are measures that can retard its advance, including removal of pathogen carriers like bay trees near infected trees and some chemical treatments, said Garbelotto, an adjunct professor and Cooperative Extension specialist.

Garbelotto's team is now seeking volunteers to help conduct the annual spring survey, called the "SOD Blitz," to find diseased trees. The results are compiled into a report, along with maps, each fall. The reports are available on the lab's webpage.

Training sessions for volunteers are being held at several Bay Area locations. Check web page for dates and times. Participants are asked to register in advance at Eventzilla. 

His lab's website has photos showing what the leaves of an infected tree look like and information about easy-to-use testing kits.

Asked about some people's concern on whether they can grow rhododendrons and azaleas – which can carry the disease – in their yards and gardens, Garbelotto said residents need not avoid them as long as they are not planted next to an infected oak.

The spread of sudden oak death is not uniform, Garbelotto said.

"Since we've started studying it, it gets worse and worse every year, but the rate of advance of the disease changes," he said. A major variable in the past, before it moved into the moister region on this side of the East Bay hills, was the amount of rainfall, with a faster spread in wetter years, he said.

Have you seen evidence of sudden oak death? Where? Do you know what to look for?