All steamed up over fatal oak blight August 15, 2012 A new way
has been found to battle a particularly lethal plant disease
called sudden oak death, which periodically plagues this region
and can cause huge financial losses. The baffling and complex
disease, it has been discovered, can be eradicated by the
simplest of means — steam. (San Francisco Chronicle) The
disease, Phytophthora ramorum to scientists, also claims a large
variety of other plants and has been the scourge of nurseries.
It has nearly wiped out huge parts of Big Sur, Jack London and
China Camp state parks, and watershed near Mount Tamapais. Until
now, its only known treatment was application of an expensive
phosphate compound designed mainly for treating infected trees
in people’s yards. The disease’s cause and eradication have
eluded scientists for years. In 2004, Cal Poly Professor Walter
Mark and forest health technician Amy Jirka launched a grant-
funded study which the authors hoped would expand knowledge of
the rapidly-spreading disease.