Maple: Nectria canker

Biology

Nectria is a fungal infection which often attacks via wounds and forms cankers on twigs, branches, and trunks. The cankers are often sunken areas that develop conspicuous yellow to orange-red fungal fruiting bodies in the dead bark. Nectria cankers may girdle twigs and kill them or become elongated and enlarge year after year. Older cankers may develop a characteristic target or bull’s-eye shape. Infected branches are susceptible to breakage in wind storms and should be removed.

Management Options

Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for successful plant problem management.

Non-chemical Management

Select non-chemical management options as your first choice!

• Provide proper culture to maintain healthy, vigorous, disease-resistant trees.
• Avoid wounding trees.
• Prune and destroy infected twigs and branches.
• Prune properly to reduce risk of infection through pruning wounds or stubs.
• To minimize infection risks, do not plant in cold pockets or on poorly drained sites.

Chemical Management

IMPORTANT: Visit Home and Garden Fact Sheets for more information on using pesticides.

• None recommended