Question
I have a coupe of jack pines planted in my yard which are about 2 meters tall and the needles have turned brown in the bottom part and on the trunk have started to fall off...  Any suggestion to what it could be and the cure?

Answer
Hi.Sounds like it may be Diplodia Tip Blight

Dead, brown needles at the tips of pine branches may signal the presence of Diplodia tip blight. Surveys indicate that no species of pine (Pinus) is immune to this disease, although some species are more severely affected than others. Austrian pine (Pinus nigra) is one of the most severely damaged species in NewJersey. Tip blight infection year after year can weaken and even kill large Austrian pine trees.

Symptoms
A few brown needles at the tip of the current season's growth are the first evidence of tip blight. These blighted needles are usually located on the lower branches of the tree. Needles that are in the early stages of development stop growing after infection and therefore appear stunted when compared to healthy needles. The number of blighted needles increases until the new growth for that year has been killed. This stunted and dead new growth on lower branches draws attention to the disease (Fig. 1).

With a hand lens you may see minute black fruiting bodies (pycnidia) at the base of diseased needles, especially under the papery leaf sheath. These are sure signs of this disease.

Management Strategies

The damage caused by this disease is most severe on old or weakened trees. Old trees or trees exposed to unsuitable growing conditions, mechanical injury, or damage by insects may eventually be killed. Thorough weekly watering during extended dry periods of the growing season and spring broadcast fertilization will result in a tree that is more vigorous and more resistant to tip blight.

When only a few branches of a tree show symptoms of tip blight, a program of pruning and sanitation should prevent severe injury. Prune off blighted twigs and destroy or discard them. Since fungal spores can be transported to healthy twigs during the pruning operation, prune when the tree is dry. Disinfect pruning tools before each cut by swabbing the cutting blades with a solution of 70% rubbing alcohol between each cut. Rake up all blighted needles, twigs, and