Disposal of material infected by bleeding canker of horse chestnut

 

Once diseased trees are felled, affected branches or trunks should be destroyed and not left around as they might act as reservoirs of infection for other trees. Either burning or burying is probably the best method of disposal in Britain.

It is not recommended that logs cut from diseased trees are retained (eg for firewood) but if disposal cannot be undertaken immediately, any logs should be stored in an area away from other trees.

Chipping of infected material on site is not recommended in case it creates aerosols of inoculum and leads to disease spread.   The Dutch Working Group Aesculaap do suggest that diseased material can be composted with various caveats.  The composting conditions should be well controlled (this includes maintaining a minimal temperature of 60°C throughout the heap), and the infected material should be taken directly to the processing facility where it can be chipped safely, without spreading infection, and then composted.