LIHUE A Hawaii scientific group has announced the discovery of new cases of a fungal disease that has killed thousands of native ohia trees.
LIHUE — A Hawaii scientific group has announced the discovery of new cases of a fungal disease that has killed thousands of native ohia trees.
The Kauai Rapid Ohia Death Working Group announced cases of the fungal disease on Kauai, The Garden Island reported Monday.
Limahuli Garden and Preserve Director Lei Wann ordered a tree sample to be tested after officials observed ohia exhibiting symptoms of rapid ohia death.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Hilo ran molecular testing and confirmed the presence of Ceratocystis huliohia, the less aggressive of two fungal species responsible for the blight.
“We suspected it was only a matter of time before we might see ROD in our valley, so we were watching for it,” Wann said. “We also knew that recent catastrophic weather events likely wounded ohia in the valley, making them vulnerable to infection.”
Within a day of learning the Limahuli test results, the tree was felled and covered to contain the spread of the disease.
Other ohia tested positive a short time later, including one tree with Ceratocystis huliohia and another with Ceratocystis lukuohia.
Officials say C. huliohia may take months to years to kill ohia trees, while C. lukuohia can kill within weeks.
The trees were targeted for sampling after they were spotted during recent helicopter surveys by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife and Kauai Invasive Species Committee.
Rapid ohia death has been found on each of the four main islands, including a new infection discovered earlier this month on Oahu.
