*info from Agricultural Research Council's publication A GUIDE TO THE BIOLOGICAL
CONTROL OF ALIEN INVASIVE HAKEA SPECIES
We have noticed that many of the stands with large hakea (2-3m) show signs of fungal infection but to what effect? Most of the older stands shows symptoms of reduced seed production and die off of branches, a few trees have died though this seems to take months if not years to happen. We spent a day checking the progress of this on stands we have not cut down and also cleared stray trees and saplings.
We have not been monitoring this with any rigor so cannot speak with any conviction on the efficacy of the fungus. However, when occurring naturally it seems to cause disease rather than death, so we intend to see what happens when we intervene more, damage the area above the stem and and spread the fungus to this area.
However, once one accessed the base of the stem one may as well cut the tree down and leave on doubt that its dead. So this is another question for those with more knowledge in the ARC and Cape Nature.