The European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus attacks the leaves of rowan trees, leaving them weakened.
Common name: European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus
Scientific name: Emaravirus sorbi
What does it affect?: trees in the Sorbus family including rowan, whitebeam, service tree and wild service tree
Areas affected so far: Scotland and Northern England
Origin: unknown
Symptoms include:
European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus is known to be a virus that may work alone or in association with mites. As it stands, we don’t know much about the viruses that affect trees.
European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus has been reported in Scotland and Northern England. Not much is known about its UK range, but it’s likely that it is more widespread than first thought.
In the rest of Europe, the symptoms of the virus have been reported from the Czech Republic, Norway, Finland, Germany, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
Credit: Adrian Fox / FERA Science Ltd
We don’t know how the virus got here or where it originates. Little is known about the virus in general, until further studies are undertaken we don’t even know what the severity or full effects will be.
We do know that affected trees grow more slowly than healthy trees and might suffer gradual dieback after a few years.
To combat the spread of pests and diseases like European mountain ash ringspot-associated virus we have:
We are fighting back against pests and diseases. Find out what we're doing to prevent the spread and protect the UK’s trees.
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