ARBORICULTURE

By John C . Fech

Hardwood and coniferous trees provide many benefits to campus and sports field properties , including shade , wildlife enhancement , songbird habitat , color in summer and fall , framing , texture , a sense of place , provision of a ceiling plane and winter color of bark . Unfortunately , these sometimes go unappreciated .

As sports field managers or grounds managers , your duty is not only to keep these trees looking good and their benefits obvious , but to make yourself look good in the process . One of the important steps in doing so is controlling insects and diseases .

Some insects eat leaves , others suck the juice out of stems . These are problematic for sure , but the ones that we ’ re most concerned about are the ones that eat the permanent parts of the tree and the conductive vessels needed for water and nutrient movement . Identifying the insect is always a good start , but considering where they feed and the consequences of that feeding complete the management picture .

Tree pests include pathogens too . As with insects , some are more concerning than others . Diseases that clog the conductive vessels and degrade the integrity of the heartwood are much more troublesome than those that cause ugly spots on the leaves . All are likely to draw questions from coaches , students , players and administrators . But knowing the more invasive ones from the merely aesthetic will help with overall tree management .

Getting to know the normal and abnormal appearance of a tree is important . Flaky bark and funny fruits are often concerning , but are really not . Photos by John Fech , UNL

LOOKING , LOOKING , LOOKING You can ’ t control tree pests if you don ’ t know that they ’ re there . As such , it ’ s crucial to set up a scouting program that involves regular inspections for both insects and diseases .

First , scouting early and often is important . Control of tree pests is much easier when they are small or medium sized rather than fully mature .

Second , assigning staff to regularly inspect trees can be formatted to the local routine of the facility . In some locations , getting a few staff members to dedicate a major part of their workweek to this job is a good way to go . These people can be chosen based on their observational skills and their sense of urgency regarding a particular problem . In other situations ,

18 SportsField Management | January 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com