Blister rust is native to China, and was accidentally introduced to North America around 1900. It is devastating to white pines and, in turn, the ecosystems around them. The complex life cycle of blister rust requires two hosts, white pine, and currant or gooseberry plants. Some Indian paint brush has also been detected with blister rust.
If blister rust is discovered on a few limbs of a tree, and those limbs are pruned, the tree may be saved. If it is infecting the trunk of the tree, it will be lost. Pruning, while somewhat effective, is costly and time-consuming.
Battling white pine blister rust kept many young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) busy. In this photo, taken in 1933 by K.D. Swan and courtesy of the Museum of North Idaho, the young man in the foreground is using string to mark off a 25-foot area where all the host plants (currants and gooseberries) were to be pulled. In the background, other CCCs are pulling up the plants. All the host plants in the area had to be destroyed.
If blister rust is discovered on a few limbs of a tree, and those limbs are pruned, the tree may be saved. If it is infecting the trunk of the tree, it will be lost. Pruning, while somewhat effective, is costly and time-consuming.
Battling white pine blister rust kept many young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) busy. In this photo, taken in 1933 by K.D. Swan and courtesy of the Museum of North Idaho, the young man in the foreground is using string to mark off a 25-foot area where all the host plants (currants and gooseberries) were to be pulled. In the background, other CCCs are pulling up the plants. All the host plants in the area had to be destroyed.
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