Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) is a disease complex wherein the fungus (Geosmithia morbida) is vectored by the walnut twig beetle (WTB, Pityophthorus juglandis). The disease causes mortality primarily of eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra), although other walnut and wingnut (Pterocarya) species are also susceptible. Black walnut is native to the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. but is widely planted in western states. Total standing volume in both urban and forested settings is approximately 96 million cubic meters, and is valued at $539 billion. Although native to the Southwestern U.S., the range of WTB has expanded considerably. The spread of G. morbida coincides with that of WTB. TCD was introduced into Tennessee in 2010, and has spread to seven eastern states. Trees infected with TCD exhibit drought-like symptoms, making field detection difficult without molecular and/or morphological methods. The recently sequenced G. morbida genome will provide valuable research tools focused on understanding gene interactions between organisms involved in TCD and mechanisms of pathogenicity. With no chemical treatments available, quarantine and sanitation are preeminent options for slowing the spread of TCD, although biological control agents have been discovered. High levels of black walnut mortality due to TCD will have far-reaching implications for both eastern and western states.

Thousand cankers disease (TCD) is an insect-mediated disease of walnut trees (Juglans spp.) involving walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis) and a fungal pathogen (Geosmithia morbida). Although first documented on walnut species in the western U.S., TCD is now found on black walnut (J. nigra) in five states in the eastern U.S. Most collections of P. juglandis or G. morbida are from trees in agriculturally- or residentially-developed landscapes. In 2013, 16 pheromone-baited funnel traps were deployed in or near black walnuts in forested conditions to assess the risk of infestation of forested trees by P. juglandis. Four of the 16 funnel traps collected adult P. juglandis from three forested areas (one in North Carolina and two in Tennessee). These collections, while in forested settings, may still be strongly influenced by human activities. The greatest number of P. juglandis (n = 338) was collected from a forested location in an urbanized area near a known TCD-positive tree. The other two forested locations where P. juglandis (n = 3) was collected were in areas where camping is common, and infested firewood may have introduced P. juglandis unintentionally into the area. Future studies to assess P. juglandis on more isolated forested walnuts are planned.

Black walnut, a valuable economic and environmentally important species, is threatened by thousand cankers disease. Systemic imidacloprid and dinotefuran applications were made to mature black walnut trees to evaluate their translocation and concentration levels in various tissue types including leaf, twig, trunk core, nutmeat, and walnut husk. The metabolism of imidacloprid in plants produces a metabolite, olefin-imidacloprid, which has been documented to have insecticidal properties in other systems. Trunk CoreTect (imidacloprid) soil pellets and a trunk spray of dinotefuran were applied to mature black walnuts in spring 2011. Imidacloprid concentrations were detected in both the lower and upper strata in all tissue types tested and progressively increased through month 12 post-treatment in twig and leaf tissue. Olefin-imidacloprid was detected in the nutmeat and walnut husk. Dinotefuran was only detected in the first sampling period and was found in low concentration levels in leaf and twig tissue types, and was not detected in the trunk, nutmeat or the walnut husk.