Good news for hurley makers as ash trees evolving resistance to dieback, new study reveals

The 'Irish Examiner' reported in April that the supply of ash suitable for hurley making could be exhausted within three years. File picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

New generations of wild ash trees are rapidly evolving resistance to the fungus devastating their numbers, scientists have discovered, giving a sliver of hope to hurley makers worried about the dieback crisis that has engulfed the game.

The discovery gives hope, the researchers said, and shows allowing the natural regeneration of woodlands is vital to enabling this evolution to take place. 

However, it remains too early to say if the development of resistance in the ash trees can outpace the destruction being caused by the ash dieback fungus.

The genetic analysis is also a scientific breakthrough. It is the first convincing proof of a prediction made by Charles Darwin that significant changes in organisms can result from natural selection driving very many small changes, not just from one or two obvious ones.

Ash dieback is caused by the invasive Hymenoscyphus fraxineus fungus, which is also killing trees across Europe. It is expected to wipe out up to 85% of the older, non-resistant ash trees, incurring costs in the millions.

The Irish Examiner reported in April that the supply of ash suitable for hurley making could be exhausted within three years. Disease-resistant ash trees have been planted, but it could be 30 years before they mature into hurley-making timber, and that is if they are in fact immune to the disease.

Previous studies found apparent resistance in some ash saplings, but the new study gives in-depth genetic information that could help breeding programmes to support the natural recovery of ash trees.

“Our new findings give us new hope,” said Professor Richard Buggs, at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Queen Mary University of London: “Elm trees have struggled to evolve to Dutch elm disease, but ash produce an abundance of seedlings upon which natural selection can act when they are still young. Through the death of millions of ash trees, a more resistant population of ash is appearing.”

Professor Richard Nichols, also at Queen Mary University, said: “We have to be cautious. We can’t say the ash is saved, but we are in a position to say it’s looking promising. We are watching evolution happen and what’s remarkable is that it’s happening so quickly, in a single generation.”

• The Guardian and Irish Examiner