"dieback of" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It is typically used to describe a phenomenon where the branches or leaves of a plant or tree begin to die due to disease, pests, or environmental factors. Example: The recent drought has caused a significant dieback of oak trees in the area, leaving large sections of the forest barren and lifeless.
Fifteen tipping points, like dieback of the southern and southeastern Amazon forest, loom.
On many plants that does not matter, but cutting a rose cane now practically guarantees winter dieback of as much as a foot or two beyond the cut.
Symptoms of ash dieback, particularly the dieback of leaves with brown leaf stalks, will start showing in stricken trees over the next few weeks.
The drought and dry winds that often accompany high temperatures cause stunting, wilting, blasting, marginal scorching of leaves, and dieback of shoots.
Staghead is a slow dieback of the upper branches of a tree; the dead, leafless limbs superficially resemble a stag's head.
Typical symptoms are a slow decline, yellowing and dying of leaves, and dieback of twigs and branches in many groves 15 years or older.
The increased vulnerability of trees to catastrophic xylem dysfunction under drought may contribute to the observed stunted growth and periodic stem-dieback of trees in metal-contaminated landscapes, the effects being exacerbated by the thin soils.
Experts are urging people to report suspected cases of dieback in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the wider environment becoming established.
Because of its high resistance to P. cinnamomi dieback, the feasibility of using B. integrifolia as a rootstock for susceptible Banksia species in the cut flower trade is under investigation.
Last year, we had our cases of dieback and it is now spreading quite rapidly; 15-20% of the trees that have been planted are probably ash.
A ban on ash imports and the movement of trees from areas with confirmed cases of dieback came into force on 29 October.
