Black Walnut Tree Cookie Heart Damage

[markle]

When doing some recent crop tree release in a walnut plantation, more than once I’ve seen this pattern of internal penetration damage on the lower quarter of the trunk, usually facing south. I am familiar with frost cracks in maples, and suspect this might be something similar. If so, it looks like the damaging event happened twenty years or so ago, and the tree annually fails to callus over it. Have you seen it? Thoughts?

 

[Seachaser]

Lightening?

 

[Lightning Performance]

Lightening?

Definitely not

 

[KostasVolos]

It is evident that the three tried its best to callus the crack .Since this was not successful means that the cause was persistent year after year .
It indeed seems damage from either some kind of internal tension that cracks the trunk or
either from an external force that
splits the wood .

Since usually these cracks face south ,while being on the lower quarter of the trunk we can assume that the cause is
environmental .

Walnut trees ( here in Southern EU at least ) are known for large water absorption by their root system.
If water is readily available the percentage of outer sapwood is always greater than the percentage of heartwood.
In the pics one can see that the sapwood is rather minimal and the heartwood is almost 95% of the trunk's diameter.
That means that those wallnut trees grow in rather dry soil /arid
environment or for some reason the root system can not supply enough water for the tree to justify a bigger percentage of sapwood.Could be a fertilization
regime issue,as well.

We now must suspect internal stresses from frost or abnormal weight distribution ( branch formation ) or powerful winds (facing south thing...) or a combination thereof .

I seriously do not think that the cause is due to insects ( borers,termites,etc ) or a virus/bacteria/fungus disease.
After all the walnut wood has lots
of tannin content that acts as
pesticide .

It has to be something environmental.
Me thinks it has to do either with
strong winds or frost,or their combination.Internal stress /tension is built inside the rather dry and hard heartwood and causes splitting .

 

[lone wolf]

It is evident that the three tried its best to callus the crack .Since this was not successful means that the cause was persistent year after year .
It indeed seems damage from either some kind of internal tension that cracks the trunk or
either from an external force that
splits the wood .

Since usually these cracks face south ,while being on the lower quarter of the trunk we can assume that the cause is
environmental .

Walnut trees ( here in Southern EU at least ) are known for large water absorption by their root system.
If water is readily available the percentage of outer sapwood is always greater than the percentage of heartwood.
In the pics one can see that the sapwood is rather minimal and the heartwood is almost 95% of the trunk's diameter.
That means that those wallnut trees grow in rather dry soil /arid
environment or for some reason the root system can not supply enough water for the tree to justify a bigger percentage of sapwood.Could be a fertilization
regime issue,as well.

We now must suspect internal stresses from frost or abnormal weight distribution ( branch formation ) or powerful winds (facing south thing...) or a combination thereof .

I seriously do not think that the cause is due to insects ( borers,termites,etc ) or a virus/bacteria/fungus disease.
After all the walnut wood has lots
of tannin content that acts as
pesticide .

It has to be something environmental.
Me thinks it has to do either with
strong winds or frost,or their combination.Internal stress /tension is built inside the rather dry and hard heartwood and causes splitting .

Is it the Tannin that burns my eyes and skin when cutting and the sawdust lands on me.

 

[KostasVolos]

Is it the Tannin that burns my eyes and skin when cutting and the sawdust lands on me.

(...)Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Black Walnut has been reported as a sensitizer. Usually most common reactions simply include eye and skin irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
(...)

https://www.wood-database.com/black-walnut/

 

[Del_]

Is it the Tannin that burns my eyes and skin when cutting and the sawdust lands on me.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/...stained-and-blistered-and-how-to-find-relief/

 

[Treecounter]

When doing some recent crop tree release in a walnut plantation, more than once I’ve seen this pattern of internal penetration damage on the lower quarter of the trunk, usually facing south. I am familiar with frost cracks in maples, and suspect this might be something similar. If so, it looks like the damaging event happened twenty years or so ago, and the tree annually fails to callus over it. Have you seen it? Thoughts?

It may be sunscald.

 

[ATH]

Fire scars?

Any history of weed control with herbicides in the plantation? Glyphosate sprayed on the bark can cause wounds that look a lot like southwest damage/sunscald.

 

[markle]

Thanks for your Dr. Dendro comments and ideas. The walnut plantation is a forestry timber farm. We are cutting trees marked by the forester as culls. He obviously marks trees with this specific damage as culls, having much loss in potential timber value. (I’ve sent him a pic also awaiting his reply).The impacted tree is in a stream valley, very rich black humus organic soil, spongy to walk on. Herbiciding in the understory was never required as the walnuts are pretty successful at killing most colonizing shrubs ( allelopathy) in the understory.

 

[ATH]

The allopathic impact of walnut is way over stated. They grow in the forest with a plethora of other rather healthy plants all around. They grow in yards without killing the grass (no more than any other trees does from shading).

Grass tends to be some of the strongest competition for young tree plantations... It is rather common to use herbicide weed control in reforestation tree plantations.

 

[markle]

We do sometimes use grass specific herbicide when sapling trees are first planted. I think these trees were planted in 1977.
I was told as ATH stated about grass competition. Completely agree.