Search Results (8)

Lecanosticta acicola is one of the most damaging species affecting Pinus radiata plantations in Spain. Favourable climatic conditions and unknown endogenous factors of the pathogen and host led to a situation of high incidence and severity of the disease in these ecosystems. With the main aim of understanding the factors intrinsic to this pathogenic species, a study of the population structure in new established plantations with respect to older plantations was implemented. The genetic diversity, population structure and the ability of the pathogen to spread was determined in Northern Spain (Basque Country), where two thirds of the total Pinus radiata plantations of Spain are located. From a total of 153 Lecanosticta acicola isolates analysed, two lineages were present; the southern lineage, which was prevalent, and the northern lineage, which was scarce. A total of 22 multilocus genotypes were detected with a balanced composition of both mating types and evidence for sexual reproduction. In addition to the changing environmental conditions enhancing disease expression, the complexity and diversity of the pathogen will make it difficult to control and to maintain the wood productive system fundamentally based on this forest species. Full article

Intensive forest afforestation with native pine species was developed in the 1960s on degraded and deforested lands in the region of the Eastern Rhodopes (south-eastern Bulgaria). Severe damage by wet snow was registered in the coniferous forests of the Rhodopes in March 2015. In the following years, bark beetle attacks were registered on the broken and felled fresh wood. As a result, bark beetle infestation spots appeared in the pine plantations. In the period 2019–2021, damage caused by bark beetles was assessed in the region of State Forestry Kirkovo (the Eastern Rhodopes, south-eastern Bulgaria). An integrated approach using the data of the information system of the Executive Forest Agency (ISEFA), remote sensing data obtained by an “eBee SQ” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a “Parrot Sequoia” multispectral camera, and subsequent terrestrial observations, was applied. ISEFA data showed that there was no serious damage caused by abiotic and biotic factors in the pine forests of SF Kirkovo until 2014. Snow damage in 2015 affected 513 ha of pine plantations, and bark beetle infestations reached up to 1316 ha in 2016. In 2019, a total of 226.87 ha of pine plantations were captured in three localities—Fotinovo, Kirkovo, and Kremen. The relative share of damage caused by bark beetles was greater in P. sylvestris plantations (15.3–23.0%), compared to damage in P. nigra (2.3%). Four different categories of normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) were separated in bark beetle infestation spots—living trees, dead trees, grass and shrub vegetation, stones and rocks. The NDVI values in locations with living trees varied between 0.500 (spaces between tree crowns) and 0.700 (central part of the crown projection) (an average of 0.617). In the locations with dead trees, the average values of NDVI of lying trees was 0.273, and in standing trees, NDVI varied between 0.275 (central part of crown projections) and 0.424 (spaces between tree crowns). In the locations with grass and shrub vegetation, stones and rocks, the average NDVI was 0.436 and 0.329, respectively. In the field study, average defoliation of 31.2–32.3% was registered in P. sylvestris plantations, and 47.4% in P. nigra plantations. Defoliations mainly were caused by pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) and fungal pathogens (Dothistroma septosporum and Lecanosticta acicola). The damage was caused by Ips acuminatus (in P. sylvestris only), and I. sexdentatus, Tomicus piniperda and T. minor (in P. sylvestris and P. nigra). Infestations by other xylophages, such as Phaenops cyanea, Rhagium inquisitor, and Pissodes spp., were also found on pine stems. Full article

In the last decade, the impact of needle blight fungal pathogens on the health status of forests in northern Spain has marked a turning point in forest production systems based on Pinus radiata species. Dothistroma needle blight caused by Dothistroma septosporum and D. pini, and brown spot needle blight caused by Lecanosticta acicola, coexist in these ecosystems. There is a clear dominance of L. acicola with respect to the other two pathogens and evidence of sexual reproduction in the area. Understanding L. acicola spore dispersal dynamics within climatic determinants is necessary to establish more efficient management strategies to increase the sustainability of forest ecosystems. In this study, spore counts of 15 spore traps placed in Pinus ecosystems were recorded in 2019 and spore abundance dependency on weather data was analysed using generalised additive models. During the collection period, the model that best fit the number of trapped spores included the daily maximum temperature and daily cumulative precipitation, which was associated to higher spore counts. The presence of conidia was detected from January and maximum peaks of spore dispersal were generally observed from September to November. Full article

In recent years, the decline of pine stands in Europe, including Poland, has been caused by the emerging needle pathogen Dothistroma septosporum. Although this fungus appears to preferentially infect Pinus pini, P. pinaster or P. radiata in Southern Europe, it has been reported in stands of P. nigra, P. mugo and P. sylvestris from Southern Poland. Our preliminary tests of symptomatic needles of diseased pines, including black pine (P. nigra), showed the presence of both D. septosporum and D. pini—the latter as the first report in Poland. No other endophytic pathogen, i.e., Lecanosticta acicola or Cenangium ferruginosum, were found. More extensive molecular surveying based on β-tub2 amplification of DNA in needle samples from 72 seed trees of P. sylvestris in nine different Forest Districts of Southern Poland did not find the presence of D. septosporum. Our study revealed that the seed trees from which we collected propagation material were free from the pathogen, and its endophytic behavior was not confirmed in our testing. Consequently, these investigated trees of P. sylvestris should be suitable for seed collection and propagation, following the requirements of “good” phytosanitary quality as “pathogen-free” pine seeds used for reforestation. Full article

Needle blights are serious needle fungal diseases affecting pines both in natural and productive forests. Among needle blight agents, the ascomycetes Lecanosticta acicola, Dothistroma pini and D. septosporum are of particular concern. These pathogens need specific, fast and accurate diagnostics since they are regulated species in many countries and may require differential management measures. Due to the similarities in fungal morphology and the symptoms they elicit, these species are hard to distinguish using morphological characteristics. The symptoms can also be confused with those caused by insects or abiotic agents. DNA-based detection is therefore recommended. However, the specific PCR assays that have been produced to date for the differential diagnosis of these pathogens can be applied only in a well-furnished laboratory and the procedure takes a relatively long execution time. Surveillance and forest protection would benefit from a faster diagnostic method, such as a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, which requires less sophisticated equipment and can also be deployed directly on-site using portable devices. LAMP assays for the rapid and early detection of L. acicola, D. pini and D. septosporum were developed in this work. Species-specific LAMP primers and fluorescent assimilating probes were designed for each assay, targeting the beta tubulin (β-tub2) gene for the two Dothistroma species and the elongation factor (EF-1α) region for L. acicola. Each reaction detected its respective pathogen rapidly and with high specificity and sensitivity in DNA extracts from both pure fungal cultures and directly from infected pine needles. These qualities and the compatibility with inexpensive portable instrumentation position these LAMP assays as an effective method for routine phytosanitary control of plant material in real time, and they could profitably assist the management of L. acicola, D. pini and D. septosporum. Full article

A Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for the detection of the pine pathogen Dothistroma septosporum (G. Dorog.) M. Morelet. The specificity of the LAMP assay was tested using a selection of pine needle fungi, including Dothistroma pini Hulbary, and Lecanosticta acicola (Thüm.) Syd.; only D. septosporum DNA was amplified by the test. In terms of sensitivity, the assay was able to detect as little as 1 pg of total D. septosporum DNA. This assay enables DNA extracted from diseased host needles to be rapidly tested for the presence of D. septosporum using relatively simple to operate equipment away from a fully equipped molecular biology laboratory. Full article

Red band needle blight caused by Dothistroma septosporum and D. pini, and brown spot needle blight caused by Lecanosticta acicola provoke severe and premature defoliation in Pinus, and subsequent reduction of photosynthetic surfaces, vitality, and growth in young and adult trees. The recurrent damage results in branch and tree death. Until recently, pine needle blight diseases have had only minor impacts on native and exotic forest trees in the North of Spain, but in the past five years, these pathogen species have spread widely and caused severe defoliation and mortality in exotic and native plantations of Pinus in locations where they were not detected before. In an attempt to understand the main causes of this outbreak and to define the effectiveness of owners’ management strategies, four research actions were implemented: a survey of the management activities implemented by the owners to reduce disease impact, the evaluation of specific symptoms and damage associated with infection, and the identification of the causative pathogenic species and their reproductive capacity. Morphological characteristics of the fungus and molecular identification were consistent with those of Lecanosticta acicola and Dothistroma spp., D. septosporum, D. Pini, and both mating types were present for the three identified pathogens. The local silvicultural management performed, mainly pruning and thinning, was not resulting in the expected improvement. The results of this study can be applied to establish guidelines for monitoring and controlling the spread of needle blight pathogens. Full article

Eastern white pine is a crucial ecological and economic component of forests in the northern USA and eastern Canada, and is now facing an emerging problem in white pine needle damage (WPND). It is still unclear whether WPND results from one, or the combination of several fungal pathogens. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to characterize the fungi associated with WPND in the northeastern United States and document the damage being done to mature eastern white pine as a result of repeated defoliation. To date, 22 species of fungi, either cultured from diseased pine needles or formed fruiting bodies on pine needles were identified based on morphology and sequence data. Lecanosticta acicola and a putative new species of Septorioides were the species most frequently recovered from diseased needles, in addition to needle cast fungi Lophophacidium dooksii and Bifusella linearis, two obligate fungal pathogens that were frequently observed on pine needles in the northeast, but have not been known to cause excessive defoliation of eastern white pine. A second objective was to monitor yearly the health of 63 pairs of healthy and unhealthy trees in eight affected locations throughout New England. Since 2012, affected trees are increasingly and repeatedly chlorotic and defoliated every year. Trees that were initially healthy are now exhibiting symptoms. While L. acicola appears to be the primary pathogen causing WPND, several other common needle pathogens are being more frequently observed and the role of climate change may be important in the disease ecology of WPND. These defoliation events, while once a sporadic occurrence, have now become more frequent as observed in continued crown deterioration of eastern white pine in long-term monitoring plots followed during the course of this three-year study. Full article