Eastern Filbert Blight
Anisogramma anomala
6 host plants
Last updated
This profile contains verified disease data from extension databases. Regional field notes and expert review are in progress.
Eastern filbert blight causes cankers that girdle and kill branches on hazelnut. You see branch dieback and sunken cankers on infected wood. The disease is serious for filbert production in the region. Remove infected wood and maintain good sanitation.
Remove blighted tissue promptly, cutting well below visible symptoms. Improve air circulation by thinning dense growth. Avoid overhead watering, especially during bloom and new growth periods when tissues are most susceptible. For recurring problems, preventive fungicide applications timed to protect new growth can reduce infection, but cultural controls should be your first approach.
Quick Reference
Management
The disease causes cankers, sometimes girdling and killing branches in summer to early fall.
Spring ascospore release from overwintered inoculum; rain splash and overhead watering spread spores during bloom.
Cultural Controls
- Plant moderately resistant varieties such as 'Hall's Giant', 'Tonda di Giffoni', or 'Willamette'.
- Some varieties used as pollenizers are susceptible to infection, including 'Butler' and 'Daviana'.
- The cultivars 'Ennis' and 'Tonda Romana' are also susceptible.
- Prune out and destroy cankered branches.
- Make pruning cuts at least 3' below canker.
- Remove severely infected trees.