Dutch elm disease ravaged Canadian cities. Can we help trees protect themselves?

Muzammil Hussain September 09, 2026

A man crouched next to the trunk of a young elm holds a long syringe-like device that he's using to inject the tree.

Scientists in the state of Vermont have spent the summer spreading Dutch elm disease to thousands of trees. It's an experiment to see if a new generation of elms might have resistance to a plague that has been decimating elm populations in the U.S. and Canada for decades.

Scientists in the state of Vermont have spent the summer spreading Dutch elm disease to thousands of trees. It's an experiment to see if a new generation of elms might have resistance to a plague that has been decimating elm populations in the U.S. and Canada for decades. A man crouched next to the trunk of a young elm holds a long syringe-like device that he's using to inject the tree.

Scientists in the state of Vermont have spent the summer spreading Dutch elm disease to thousands of trees. It's an experiment to see if a new generation of elms might have resistance to a plague that has been decimating elm populations in the U.S. and Canada for decades.

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