Heat treatment against bleeding canker. How does it work? Bleeding canker of horse chestnut is the most threatening disease for horse chestnuts. Caused by bacteria it is also highly contiguous. Most trees infected with the disease perish. Heat treatment is currently the only method that can stop the disease.

1. Heat treatment against bleeding canker of
horse chestnut
How does it work?
December 2015

2. Heat treatment against bleeding canker of
horse chestnut: how does it work?
Bleeding canker of horse chestnut is the most
threatening disease for horse chestnuts. Caused by
bacteria it is also highly contiguous. Most trees infected
with the disease perish.
Heat treatment is currently the only method that can
stop the disease.
The tree is covered in a ‘heat mantle’. The heat treatment
frees the tree trunks from the pathogenic bacteria as
much as possible.
This allows the tree overgrow the damage and recover.
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Baronielaan, a street in Breda, features monumental horse
chestnuts which have been infected with the bleeding canker.

4. 4
Symptoms of bleeding canker of horse
chestnut.

5. 5
Two companies, Prop Boomtechniek and Ruvoma, install the
equipment.

6. 6
The heat mantle is placed around the trunk and branches of
the horse chestnut.

7. 7
Hot air is used as the heat source for the treatment.

8. 8
View of the tree with heat mantle.

9. 9
The site is fenced off during the treatment to keep out
unauthorised persons.

10. 10
The heat treatment takes approximately two days.

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After the treatment, a sample is taken
from the tree to ensure all bacteria
have been killed.

12. More information?
Fons van Kuik, Wageningen UR:
T +31 252 462 145
E fons.vankuik@wur.nl
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