I have a Red Oak in my care with a good amount of dead wood in the crown, it produced healthy foilage this year , on about 65% of the tree, I am unable to identify the orange colored large mushrooms near the base of the trunk , not honey colored or yellow , there is no sign of any fruiting body along the trunk or stem, could this be the fruitng body of ganoderma lucidum or another fungus associated with root rot ?

Reply to post by mark burke, on November 01, 2000 at 19:47:04:

One thing for sure is that you have a fungus problem. No matter what the type you need to have the tree sprayed with a Systemic-type fungicide in the spring after the leaf buds have popped open and I would suggest that as soon as you can have a reputable tree care company prune the Oak manly because any dead wood attracts insects along with fungus. You see when a trees immune system in week it attracks insects and disease. Just like in humans, when we get run down we are susceptible to catch a cold.
Another option is to have the tree injected with a fungiside/insecticide. This is a little injector that is injected into the tree around the trunk about every 6 inches. This is guarenteed for the entire growing season where as spraying is only good for about a month with a good Systemic. The injections are a better way to go however it may be more costly. The best time to have this done is in the spring as early in the year as possible. Good luck.

Reply to post by mark burke, on November 01, 2000 at 19:47:04:

Mark,

By near the base, do you mean in the ground or on the trunk? I guess which every it is, I would not want to take too many risks with possible root rot. Do you have an increment borer or small drill that could be used to pull some wood out of the area to see if it is indeed rotting? This would give some idea of what is going on.

I have used injectable insecticides with great results from a curative standpoint. It is just my opinion, but I think the fungicides applied this way will have little chance of working on an area of fungal activity already started. The tree will probably already have started to wall this off from its circulatory system. If it was an extremely small infestation, you may get some preventative effects from the systemic to keep it out in the future.

If it is determined to be root rot fungus of some sort, I would say the two most important questions would be extent of spread and possible targets under the tree.

Those of you will experience in using fungicides curatively, am I right in my assumptions on this?

Reply to post by mark burke, on November 01, 2000 at 19:47:04:

We need more information, and some photos would be helpful. If you have some photos you can email to me, I can put them up with your message.

Check the site below- it has some great information on ID.

Reply to post by mark burke, on November 01, 2000 at 19:47:04:

It also could be a trunk rot.
It seems to be so from your description.
A tree could live for ages with such a disease.
Regularly remove dead branches and mushrooms and burn them. Use bio stimulaters (in Russia we use EPIN) and fertilizers (after soil analisis) twise a month. Make good conditions for the tree and it woul grow for long, even without any fungicides.