The majestic elm tree, once a common sight in American neighborhoods, is under threat from an invasive disease. Fifty years ago, a former Canton resident learned about a new way to fight the tree killer and was using it to try to save his elms, according to the July 29, 1976, edition of The Sioux Valley News.
A fungal disease spread by the elm bark beetle, Dutch elm disease spread from Europe to North America when it arrived with a lumber shipment sent to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1931. Fungal spores are carried from an infected tree to a healthy tree on the beetles, or the disease is spread underground between tree roots that have grafted themselves together, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources.
Original reporting: The Dakota Scout (Sioux Falls) — read the source article.
