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White Pine Question #873700

Asked June 18, 2024, 7:18 PM EDT

I have several white pines planted in wind rows about 10’ apart in sandy soil. They were planted about 4 years ago and over the last year have gotten new growth that didn’t develop needles or grew stunted needles. Now the old growth is drying up but new growth is emerging. I don’t see any blight but there is some sap forming on some of the tips that are drying up! Any ideas what I need to do to try and save the trees?

Hillsdale County Michigan

Expert Response

Hello,

To better understand the situation, I have listed a few questions below.  If you could reply back that would be helpful in figuring out issues at play. 

1) What soil type are the trees planted in?  From the pictures looks to be a very dark/black uniform soil?  Is that similar to the native soil at the site?  Or is this wood chips on top of the ground?  Hard to determine what is going on in photos.

2)Many of the symptoms described are similar to herbicide injury.  Have any herbicides been applied in the area recently or in the past?  A herbicide that was applied on/near these trees many years ago could still be having an impact.

3) Was there any new shoot growth earlier this spring/summer?  White pines should have already a fairly developed new shoot at this time of the year.  

An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 19, 2024, 12:30 PM EDT
The trees are in sandy soil native to area.  There are the fibrous tree rings around the base of the trees so that is what you see in the pictures.  The only herbicide would have been lawn treatments last season for fertilizer and weed control. I can’t attest to what the lawn company might have sprayed around the trees.  
There is some new growth on a few trees and some small buds popping where last years buds/candles are drying up.
Based on local nursery recommendation I did do a light treatment of Hollytone in early June. 
I appreciate any recomendations or advice you might be able to provide. 
Sent from my IPhone

On Jun 19, 2024, at 12:30 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied June 19, 2024, 2:32 PM EDT

Thanks for the update.  From the information we have, it is difficult to determine the cause of the problem.   The best course of action would be to submit a sample (portion of branch that is affected) to the MSU plant and pest diagnostic lab.  Plant & Pest Diagnostics (msu.edu).  How to submit samples (Submit Samples - Plant & Pest Diagnostics (msu.edu)).  There are a few different diseases that could be causing this (Managing needle blights of pine - MSU Extension) and submitting a sample should help solve this problem and find possible solutions. 

An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 21, 2024, 2:05 PM EDT

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