Hazelnut blight

Hazelnut blight

Image: Joseph O’Brien, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

  • Eastern filbert or hazelnut blight (caused by Anisogramma anomala) is a fungal disease that causes potentially fatal cankers on the trunk and branches of hazelnut trees
  • In the United States, entire orchards have been lost to this disease
  • Cankers can expand at a rate of 30cm per year, causing canopy and yield loss
  • If mature trees become infected, death may result in 5-15 years: if trees are younger when they become infected, they may be killed within 4-7 years
  • New infections are usually as a result of infected nursery stock. Symptoms may not be seen for up to two years
  • As the canopy dies back, new shoots and suckers may emerge from the base of the tree base, which also become infected and die
  • Cool wet weather and rain splash is needed for dispersal

High priority pest of: Hazelnuts

Scientific name: Anisogramma anomala
EPPRD Category: 3
Life Form: Fungus

Pest Documents

FS: fact sheet

CP: contingency plan

DP: diagnostic protocol