Pine Pitch Canker and Insects: Relationships and Implications for Disease Spread in Europe
Mercedes Fernández-Fernández 1,2,*
, Pedro Naves 3, Johanna Witzell 4, Dmitry L. Musolin 5, Andrey V. Selikhovkin 5,6, Marius Paraschiv 7, Danut Chira 7, Pablo Martínez-Álvarez 2,8, Jorge Martín-García 8,9, E. Jordán Muñoz-Adalia 10, Aliye Altunisik 11, Giuseppe E. Massimino Cocuzza 12, Silvia Di Silvestro 13, Cristina Zamora 2,8 and Julio J. Diez 2,8
, Pedro Naves 3, Johanna Witzell 4, Dmitry L. Musolin 5, Andrey V. Selikhovkin 5,6, Marius Paraschiv 7, Danut Chira 7, Pablo Martínez-Álvarez 2,8, Jorge Martín-García 8,9, E. Jordán Muñoz-Adalia 10, Aliye Altunisik 11, Giuseppe E. Massimino Cocuzza 12, Silvia Di Silvestro 13, Cristina Zamora 2,8 and Julio J. Diez 2,8
1
Department of Agroforestry, ETSIIA Palencia, University of Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34071 Palencia, Spain
2
Sustainable Forest Management Research Institute, University of Valladolid-INIA, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34071 Palencia, Spain
3
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, INIAV, Av. da República, Quinta do Marquês, 2780-505 Oeiras, Portugal
4
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, P.O. Box 49 SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
5
Department of Forest Protection, Wood Science and Game Management, Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University, Institutskiy per., 5 St. Petersburg 194021, Russia
6
Department of Biogeography and Environmental Protection, Saint Petersburg State University. 13B Universitetskaya Emb., St. Petersburg 199034, Russia
7
National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry “Marin Dracea”, Brașov Research Station, 13 Cloșca Str., 500040 Brașov, Romania
8
Department of Plant Production and Forest Resources, University of Valladolid, Avenida de Madrid 44, 34071 Palencia, Spain
9
Department of Biology, CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
10
Forest Sciences Center of Catalonia (CTFC), Carretera St. Llorenç de Morunys, 25280 Solsona, Lleida, Spain
11
Department of Plant Protection-Phytopathology, Akdeniz University, 07070 Campus Antalya, Turkey
12
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia, 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
13
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Olive, Citrus and Tree Fruit, Corso Savoia 190, 95024 Acireale, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2019, 10(8), 627; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10080627
Received: 6 June 2019 / Revised: 9 July 2019 / Accepted: 20 July 2019 / Published: 26 July 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pine Pitch Canker—Strategies for Management of Gibberella Circinata in Greenhouses and Forests (PINESTRENGTH))
Abstract
The fungal pathogen Fusarium circinatum (Nirenberg and O’ Donnell) is the causal agent of pine pitch canker (PPC) disease, which seriously affects conifer species in forests and nurseries worldwide. In Europe, PPC is only established in the Iberian Peninsula; however, it is presumed that its range could expand through the continent in the near future. Infection caused by this fungus requires open wounds on the tree, including physical damage caused by insects. Therefore, a relationship probably occurs between PPC and a wide variety of insects. The aim of this review is to outline the taxonomic and ecological diversity of insect species with high potential association with F. circinatum in Europe and elsewhere. The insects were classified as vectors, carriers and wounding agents according to the association level with the PPC disease. In addition, we discuss the insect-mediated spreading of PPC disease in relation to the different phases of forest stand development, from seeds and seedlings in nurseries to mature stands. Lastly, to improve our predictive capacities and to design appropriate intervention measures and strategies for controlling disease dissemination by insects, variables such as geographic location, time of the year and host species should be considered. Our review provides a framework of the multiple factors that regulate the insect–host interactions and determine the success of the infection. View Full-TextKeywords:
pine pitch canker; vectors; carriers; wounding agents; forests; nurseries; insect control
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MDPI and ACS Style
Fernández-Fernández, M.; Naves, P.; Witzell, J.; Musolin, D.L.; Selikhovkin, A.V.; Paraschiv, M.; Chira, D.; Martínez-Álvarez, P.; Martín-García, J.; Muñoz-Adalia, E.J.; Altunisik, A.; Cocuzza, G.E.M.; Silvestro, S.D.; Zamora, C.; Diez, J.J. Pine Pitch Canker and Insects: Relationships and Implications for Disease Spread in Europe. Forests 2019, 10, 627.
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