Some Iowa homeowners may notice the leaves on certain trees are turning yellow or brown and dropping earlier than usual this season. According to the Iowa D-N-R, they could have a fungus called anthracnose, which thrives in wet conditions, like what we’ve had this summer. The disease is affecting black walnut trees at an unusually high rate, but D-N-R forester Mark Vitosh says the fungus is -not- likely to impact a tree’s long-term health.
“Having some defoliation a little earlier than normal generally isn’t going to kill that tree,” Vitosh says. “It may set it back a little bit but since things are starting to shut down a little bit, they’ll be all right. They’ll come out next year and they’ll look pretty good.”
In addition to walnuts, anthracnose can impact sycamore, ash, maple, oak, walnut, linden, hickory, willows and other deciduous trees. He says spraying is unnecessary.
