{"id":20211,"date":"2026-08-05T06:43:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imgist.ru\/gribok-kotoryj-mozhet-spasti-derevya-v-shtate-men-spasaya-kazhdyj-sazhenecz-po-otdelnosti\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T12:21:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T09:21:37","slug":"a-fungus-that-can-save-trees-in-the-state-by-saving-each-seedling-individually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/gribok-kotoryj-mozhet-spasti-derevya-v-shtate-men-spasaya-kazhdyj-sazhenecz-po-otdelnosti\/","title":{"rendered":"A fungus that could save Maine's trees, saving each sapling individually."},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is published as part of<\/em> cooperation<\/em> between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News' Maine Focus investigative reporting team. The partnership aims to strengthen investigative journalism in Maine. You can support this effort by,<\/em> by making a donation<\/em> to The Monitor.<\/em> Read more about the partnership here.<\/em> .<\/em><\/p>\n

In the 1990s, during a major spruce bark beetle outbreak, researchers walking through the forest discovered several healthy fir trees untouched by the deadly pests and wondered what gave them their apparent immunity.<\/p>\n

In their lab at the University of New Brunswick, they took needles from healthy trees and discovered that they contained a fungus that had beneficial effects on these trees. They managed to grow the fungus in a petri dish.<\/p>\n

This discovery attracted the attention of Irving Woodlands, a division of Canadian forestry conglomerate J.D. Irving and the largest owner of timberland in Maine. A partnership that began in 1999 led to the development of a new way to combat future pest outbreaks: breeding tree varieties resistant to the budworm.<\/p>\n

The strategy of using naturally occurring fungi\u2014known as endophytes\u2014inside trees to protect them is at the forefront of scientific research in the search for more natural solutions, similar to the rationale behind drought-resistant crops. This is a rare example of this approach being used to save trees. Several universities in the United States are researching how endophytes work in other types of trees to protect against elm bark beetles, elongated scale, and other insects. Most lawn grasses also contain a naturally occurring protective fungus.<\/p>\n

Irving Woodlands is ramping up tree production at its newly opened greenhouse in New Brunswick. The 30 million insect-resistant trees planted in Maine since 2017 are already a key tool in a multi-pronged strategy to combat the current caterpillar infestation.<\/p>\n

Since 2007, all seedlings grown by the company in New Brunswick have been inoculated with the fungus, said Anthony Hourihan, director of land development for Irving Woodlands. This year, the company planted its 100 millionth tree in Maine. Insect-resistant seedlings will gradually replace those not infected with the fungus. This year, Irving Woodlands plans to plant 8 million insect-resistant trees in Maine.<\/p>\n

\n

Irrigation systems spraying fungicide to treat seedlings in an Irving Woodlands greenhouse in Canada. Photo courtesy of Irving Woodlands.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Irving Woodlands scientists explained, developing fungus-resistant trees required many detailed steps. First, the researchers had to grow the fungus and ensure it was toxic to insects. Then, they had to inoculate seedlings with it. Finally, after several years, they tested the trees to ensure the fungus had survived and was active against the spruce budworm before planting them.<\/p>\n

The company currently uses these trees primarily on its own extensive forest lands in Canada and Maine. It did not comment on its investments in seedling development.<\/p>\n

Trees infected with the fungus reduce the survival rate of bark beetle caterpillars by 30% and reduce leaf drop by the same percentage. This beneficial interaction also promotes overall tree health, making them more drought-resistant.<\/p>\n

The company doesn't see these trees as a cure-all for the spruce budworm. The Canadian outbreak, which began in 2006, destroyed or killed an estimated 25 million fir trees in Canada before it arrived in Maine about five years ago.<\/p>\n

\n

Production of fungi against leaf roller caterpillars at the Irving Woodlands laboratory. Photo courtesy of Irving Woodlands.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Damage has been limited so far thanks to a new program that strategically sprays pesticides on areas with high insect concentrations early in their life cycle to prevent their spread. In the first year of the program, Maine saw a 951-kilometer reduction in pest numbers in areas where pesticides were applied.<\/p>\n

As Andrew McCartney, scientific director at Irving Woodlands, explained, inoculated trees and the early spray program in Maine are parallel approaches to insect control. Inoculated trees use a natural biological product rather than a chemical, so they are less effective at controlling insects. The company also uses pesticides.<\/p>\n

\u00ab"The fungus provides additional stability and resilience to the tree against stress," McCartney said. "These trees will be a little better protected.".<\/p>\n

According to him, most trees contain fungi that have a beneficial effect on them, but not all of these fungi produce insect-repellent substances. Only 5% of them.<\/p>\n

Insect specialists are closely monitoring the program at Irving Woodlands, as well as how effectively various strategies are controlling codling moth numbers.<\/p>\n

\u00ab"I think tree health programs are an important part of an integrated pest management approach," said state entomologist Allison Kanotti, who also manages forest health monitoring for the Maine Forest Service.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is published as part of a collaboration between The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News' Maine Focus investigative reporting team. The partnership aims to\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","hvn-theme-has-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20211"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161729,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20211\/revisions\/161729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imgist.ru\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}