Christmas tree pests and weeds The pathogen often makes Douglas fir trees unsalable as Christmas trees and affects the Christmas tree farming industry. Douglas firs are also affected by "Phaeocryptopus gaumanni" which causes Swiss needlecast. Red band needle blight is a fungal disease which affects coniferous trees, particularly pine, with a worldwide distribution. The disease is caused by the fungi "Dothistroma septosporum". Since the late 1990s its appearance in the United Kingdom has increased, among the most affected species is Corsican pine and the disease has been a significant problem in Thetford Forest. Though the disease spread rapidly during September 2007 Christmas tree growers remained
Douglas Fraser Douglas Fraser Douglas Andrew Fraser (December 18, 1916 – February 23, 2008) was a Scottish-American union leader. He was president of the United Auto Workers from 1977 to 1983 and an adjunct professor of labor relations at Wayne State University for many years. He is best remembered for helping to save Chrysler from bankruptcy in 1979 by heavily lobbying the US Congress for a loan and convincing workers to make concessions. Fraser was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 28, 1916. His father, Samuel, was an electrician and an active and vocal trade unionist. The family was so poor that