A young grove of ash trees that were showing heavy ash dieback in 2020 has received 3 applications of biochar in 2021. The ash dieback has almost disappeared with the quality and colour of foliage on this grove showing the best on the farm.
This is showing amazing results and as such we have now applied biochar to almost all the large and small ash trees we have on the Farm.
We have planted over 500 ash trees on our farm over the past 20 years giving the perfect trials to study the effectiveness of Biochar against the ash dieback fungus. 2022 will be the year we find out how effective it is.
The above show young ash with severe dieback that has been removed. See the tell-tale discolouration of the bark and staining of the wood under this area. We see no evidence of any disease on the bark of the majority of the ash currently being biochar treated.
Here is a simple trial to see if cutting a diseased young sapling off at ground level and treating it with biochar would result in healthy disease-free regrowth. The trial began in June 2021 and the updated photo was taken in January 2022 showing real promise with strong disease-free growth this year.
More about Ash Dieback:
Woodland trust "Ash dieback will kill around 80% of ash trees across the UK. At a cost of billions, the effects will be staggering. It will change the landscape forever and threaten many species which rely on ash."