DANGEROUS INTERNATIONAL FOREST TREE DISEASES 27 



(8) Nordin, V. J. Forest disease research in the foreseeable future. Proc. 

 Forestry Cent. Conf., pp. 23-28, Oregon State College. 1959. 



(9) . Forest disease research trends in Canada. Proc. IX Int. Bot. 



Congress, Montreal. (In press.) 



(10) . Diseases of lodgepole pine. In Lodgepole pine in Alberta. Canad. 



Dept. of Forestry Bull. ( In press. ) 



(11) White, L. T. Major pine diseases. In White and Red Pine, Ecology, 

 Silviculture, and Management. Canad. Dept. of North. Aff. and Natl. Re- 

 sources, Forestry Branch Bui. 124. 1960. 



United States Department of Agriculture 



J. R. Hansbrough 



Director, Division of Forest Disease Research, Forest Service, U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D.C . 



The U.S. Department of Agriculture has five Divisions — two in the 

 Forest Service, three in the Agricultural Research Service — respon- 

 sible for activities of direct interest to our Working Group. It would 

 be helpful to characterize briefly the responsibilities of these Divisions. 



In the Forest Service, the Forest Disease Research Division plans 

 and carries out investigations to determine the cause of and to formu- 

 late control methods for diseases of forest trees and forest products, 

 and the Forest Pest Control Division administers all Federal forest 

 disease control programs, including detection and appraisal surveys. 

 In the Agricultural Research Service, the Crops Research Division 

 plans and carries out investigations to determine the cause of and to 

 formulate control methods for diseases of shade, ornamental, and 

 orchard trees ; the Plant Quarantine Division administers all Federal 

 quarantines regulating the importation of plants and plant materials, 

 including their fungus and insect pests ; and the Plant Pest Control 

 Division administers similar quarantines regulating the domestic 

 movement of plants and plant materials. These five Divisions, there- 

 fore, are responsible for all Federal research and prevention or control 

 programs for tree diseases in the United States. They are head- 

 quartered in Washington, D.C, and cooperate closely in carrying out 

 their work. 



Progress toward our Working Group objectives by the U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture may be summarized under a few headings : Re- 

 search, Publications, Quarantines, Exchange of Tree Seed, and Mis- 

 cellaneous Activities. 



Research 



In the Department, and primarily in the Forest Service, there are 

 about 100 scientists engaged in some aspect of tree disease research. 

 All major forest tree diseases in the United States are under study to 

 determine their causes, to clarify the taxonomy of pathogens, to estab- 

 lish their diagnostic characteristics in pure culture, to understand the 

 influence of environmental factors on their incidence, and to develop 

 and improve control methods. Control is sought through direct meas- 

 ures such as sanitation or application of fungicides or other chemicals 

 and through indirect measures such as management practices favorable 

 to the tree and detrimental to the disease or selection and breeding 

 for genetic resistance. We also seek to exclude dangerous foreign 

 forest pathogens, a subject I will discuss further under Quarantines. 



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