Eastern White PineTip Curl & Needle Deformation
(Pinus stobus)
Please see text below photos

Photo taken at Rock Creek WV in July 1999--by Joe Aliff

This close-up of the "Branch Tip Curl" shows the needle lost that is so common to these water and nutrient starved  trees.  To be remembered is the fact that ground level ozone (smog) and ultra violet radiation also add to the many stress factors that are affecting the trees.

Photo taken at Rock Creek WV in July of 1999--by Joe Aliff

As we look at the "Branch Tip Curl" and needle loss of this White Pine, we can also look at "the curl" from three previous years, and clearly note the "S" shape that it produces in the main branch.

Photo taken at Rock Creek WV in August of 2000--by Joe Aliff

In the right foreground is a dead example of a white pine that has gone through consecutive years of "Branch Tip Curling" that leaves the "S" shape forever on the branch.  Close observation of the white pine to the left of the front dead pine shows the effects of ground level ozone and ultra violet radiation upon the needles that hang below the branch instead of making the full whirl as is normal to White Pine needles. On the left center is a Scots pine that has also died.  In the left rear is another White Pine that shows the "Branch Tip Curling" and the "S" shaped branches in it's top. The pine death shown here  has now been documented from Georgia to Maine, and the number of dead trees has greatly increased.

Photo taken at Rock Creek WV in May of 1999--by Joe Aliff

White pine showing the severe "Branch Tip Curl" as is caused by the trees inability to draw sufficient water.   Also to be noted is the needle deflection that is caused by UVB after being pre-conditioned by the effects of ground level ozone (smog). To be remembered is the fact that the branches always turn away from the sun whereas, a healthy tree will reach for the sun.

Photo taken at Rock Creek WV in the summer of 2000--by Joe Aliff

Photo shows the severe needle deflection and "kinking" from the effects of ground level ozone, and ultra violet radiation from the sun.  Under normal conditions, these needles would form a complete whirl around the branch. This is the same radiation that causes cataracts and blindness in humans, and is also the cause of the greatly increased numbers of skin cancers.

Observations and reporting by:
Joe Aliff
759 Rock Creek Road
Rock Creek WV    25174

email: joelovestrees@earthlink.net

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