Origin of tree killer disease is still uncertain

I WISH to correct a number of erroneous statements attributed to Senator Paudie Coffey throughout the article headlined “Oak forests at risk from ‘killer tree fungus’ ” (August 25).

Senator Coffey states that the disease “arrived here in the rootstock of imported larch trees”. There is no evidence of this. It is not known for certain how the disease came to be established here, but given that it is a relatively new disease the findings so far have been mainly on mature Japanese larch trees and it is safe to discount the possibility of the disease arriving on the roots of imported Japanese larch plants.

Phytophthora ramorum can be spread by air dispersal and water, with airborne mists being a significant pathway.