Summary
Laurel wilt is a lethal disease of many plants including avocado, redbay, and sassafras. The disease is caused by a fungus carried and transmitted by an exotic ambrosia beetle introduced into the United States around 2002. The discovery of laurel wilt in Arkansas further documents the northward spread of the disease in forest types with sassafras that are beyond the native range of redbay. Although laurel wilt was reported on sassafras in northern Louisiana about 83 miles southwest of the site in Arkansas several months earlier, the new discovery in Arkansas represents another major jump in the distribution of the disease. Thus far, laurel wilt continues to spread in areas where redbay, perceived as the preferred host for the exotic ambrosia beetle, is absent.
