Pitch Canker Disease in California: Pathogenicity, Distribution, and Canker Development on Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata)

Plant Disease ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 676 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Correll
1996 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 981-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli Hoover ◽  
David L. Wood ◽  
Andrew J. Storer ◽  
Joseph W. Fox ◽  
William E. Bros

AbstractConophthorus radiatae Hopkins, Ernobius punctulatus Fall, and Pityophthorus spp. infest cones and twigs of Monterey pines (Pinus radiata D. Don) and thus may be important vectors of the pitch canker fungus Fusarium subglutinans f. sp. pini in the central coast of California. Fifteen percent of 1st-year Monterey pine conelets infested with C. radiatae prior to August 1990 developed pitch canker by May 1991. Conophthorus radiatae, E. punctulatus, and Pityophthorus spp. were dissected from some of these conelets and found carrying F. s. pini. Between June 1990 and May 1991, 16% of 695 randomly selected uninfested 1st-year conelets from a total of 329 separate cone whorls were infested by at least one of the above beetle species, and F. s. pini was isolated from 42% of the attacked conelets. Average percentage contamination of beetles per conelet was highest for adults of Pityophthorus spp. (38%), followed by adults of C. radiatae (33%), larvae of E. punctulatus (24%), and larvae of Pityophthorus spp. (5%). There were significant associations between conelets that contained contaminated C. radiatae, Pityophthorus spp., and/or E. punctulatus and conelets with F. s. pini.Under experimental conditions, C. radiatae and E. punctulatus transmitted the fungus to healthy cones. Ernobius punctulatus required an entrance tunnel by C. radiatae to enter and infect the cone. Artificially wounded cones did not develop pitch canker. Intra- and interspecific transmission of F. s. pini was demonstrated among these beetle species. In infested branch tips without cones, interspecific transmission of F. s. pini between E. punctulatus and Pityophthorus spp. was also demonstrated.The roles of C. radiatae and E. punctulatus as vectors of F. s. pini and of Pityophthorus spp. as potential vectors are discussed in relation to the epidemiology of pitch canker disease. The spread of pitch canker to California’s native pines as well as other conifers may be enhanced by interspecific transmission of F. s. pini between E. punctulatus and C. radiatae in cones and between E. punctulatus and Pityophthorus spp. in branch tips. Ernobius punctulatus provides a pathway for the fungus to potential insect vectors that attack several hosts and a variety of plant parts.


1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (6) ◽  
pp. 783-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Storer ◽  
David L. Wood ◽  
Karen R. Wikler ◽  
Thomas R. Gordon

AbstractJuvenile Monterey pines, Pinus radiata D. Don (Pinaceae), in a native stand on the Monterey Peninsula, California, exhibited wilted green shoots in the spring of 1996. The pitch canker fungus, Fusarium subglutinans (Wollenweb. & Reinking) P.E. Nelson, Toussoun & Marasas f.sp. pini, was subsequently isolated from 95% of these shoots. Spittle masses produced by Aphrophora canadensis Walley were observed on the symptomless shoots of many of these trees. The pitch canker fungus was isolated from the feeding sites of this insect on 55% of symptomless shoots, and from shoot sections adjacent to these feeding sites on 29% of the shoots. Shoots with spittlebugs feeding on them in May 1996 were more likely to develop pitch canker disease by September 1996 and March 1997 than shoots without spittlebugs. Shoots with spittle masses in March 1997 were as likely to develop pitch canker disease by May and August 1997 as shoots without spittle masses, but the origin of the infection was most likely where A. canadensis feeding had taken place. In a controlled test, the incidence of pitch canker on shoots of potted Monterey pines was dependent on the presence of a spittlebug and a spore suspension of the pathogen. Thus, both field observations and controlled studies show an association between native A. canadensis and the introduced pitch canker pathogen. The role of A. canadensis in the epidemiology of pitch canker disease remains to be determined.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-173
Author(s):  
Gordon Thomas R. ◽  
Reynolds Gregory J. ◽  
Kirkpatrick Sharon C. ◽  
Storer Andrew J. ◽  
Wood David L. ◽  
...  

Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) is a species of limited distribution, with three native populations in California. In 1986, a disease known as pitch canker, caused by the fungus Fusarium circinatum, was identified as the cause of extensive mortality in planted Monterey pines in Santa Cruz County. Monitoring studies on the Monterey Peninsula documented rapid progression of the disease in the native forest during the 1990s, with most trees sustaining some level of infection. However, between 1999 and 2013, the severity of pitch canker stabilized, with many previously diseased trees then free of symptoms, and plots monitored between 2011 and 2015 documented a steady decline in the occurrence of new infections. Consequently, whereas pitch canker was once a conspicuous visual blight in the forest, by the end of the observation period, symptomatic trees had become a rarity. The arrested development of pitch canker is suggestive of a reduction in the frequency and duration of fog near the coast, which provides conditions necessary for the pathogen to establish infections.


Trees ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1823-1835 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Moraga-Suazo ◽  
L. Orellana ◽  
P. Quiroga ◽  
C. Balocchi ◽  
E. Sanfuentes ◽  
...  

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Gordon ◽  
Dorothy Okamoto ◽  
Andrew J. Storer ◽  
David L. Wood

Pitch canker, caused by Fusarium subglutinans f. sp. pini, causes branch die-back and stem cankers in many species of pine. Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don), one of the most widely planted pines in the world, is extremely susceptible to pitch canker. Four other pine species, which might serve as alternatives to Monterey pine in landscape settings, were found to be relatively resistant, based on the size of lesions resulting from branch inoculations under greenhouse conditions. Of these species, Japanese black pine (P. thunbergiana Franco) was the most resistant, followed by Canary Island pine (P. canariensis Sweet ex K. Spreng), Italian stone pine (P. pinea L.), and Aleppo pine (P. halepensis Mill.). Consistent with these findings, a field survey conducted in Alameda County, Calif., revealed Monterey pine to have the highest incidence of infection, with significantly lower levels in Aleppo, Canary Island, and Italian stone pines. Japanese black pine was not observed in the survey area.


2002 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Storer ◽  
David L. Wood ◽  
Thomas R. Gordon

AbstractIps paraconfusus Lanier is a vector of the pitch canker fungus, Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O’Donnell, in California. Multiple infections of Monterey pine, Pinus radiata D. Don. (Pinaceae), branches and main stems appear to predispose trees to infestation by I. paraconfusus. The effect of cankers produced in response to F. circinatum on oviposition and gallery construction was investigated. Introduction of beetles into artificially induced or naturally occurring cankers was less likely to result in oviposition and resulted in shorter galleries than introductions into logs without cankers. Of all adults that produced eggs, the mean number of eggs per adult was no different in logs with cankers than in canker-free logs; however, the distance across the grain from the introduction point to the first egg was greater for adults introduced into cankers than for adults introduced away from cankers. These results indicate that the pitch canker pathogen has a negative effect on I. paraconfusus, as cankers produced in response to the pathogen are unsuitable for exploitation by the insect.


2000 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 889-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Dallara ◽  
Steven J. Seybold ◽  
Holger Meyer ◽  
Till Tolasch ◽  
Wittko Francke ◽  
...  

AbstractAnalyses of pentane extracts of frass, whole beetles, and volatiles trapped on Porapak-Q from Pityophthorus Eichhoff spp. fed on Pinus radiata D. Don demonstrated that (E)-pityol [2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-5-methyltetrahydrofuran] was produced by male Pityophthorus carmeli Swaine, female Pityophthorus nitidulus (Mannerheim), and female Pityophthorus setosus Blackman. (E)-(−)-Conophthorin) [(5S,7S)-(−)-7-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane] was produced by male P. carmeli and male P. nitidulus. Only the (2R,5S)-(+) stereoisomer of (E)-pityol was produced by male P. carmeli and female P. setosus. In field bioassays in central coastal California, P. setosus was attracted to (E)-(+)-pityol, whereas P. carmeli responded only to a combination of (E)-(−)-conophthorin and (E)-(+)-pityol. Male P. setosus and female P. carmeli responded to these treatments with larger numbers than opposite-sex conspecifics. (E)-(−)-Conophthorin alone did not attract species of Pityophthorus but significantly reduced catches of P. setosus to (E)-(+)-pityol. Lasconotus pertenuis Casey (Coleoptera: Colydiidae) and Ips mexicanus (Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) were attracted to a combination of (E)-(−)-conophthorin and (E)-(+)-pityol, and showed a trend for attraction to all (E)-(−)-conophthorin-containing treatments. (E)-(−)-Pityol was neither attractive nor interruptive for any taxon. (E)-(+)-Pityol is shown to be an aggregation pheromone component for P. carmeli and P. setosus. (E)-(−)-Conophthorin functions as a pheromone component for P. carmeli and may also function as a synomone that decreases competition of P. carmeli and P. nitidulus with P. setosus and as a kairomone for L. pertenuis. These semiochemicals have been useful in studying relationships among twig insects and the pathogen Fusarium circinatum (Nirenberg and O’Donnell), causal agent of pitch canker disease in P. radiata.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1976
Author(s):  
Francesco Aloi ◽  
Cristina Zamora-Ballesteros ◽  
Jorge Martín-García ◽  
Julio J. Diez ◽  
Santa Olga Cacciola

This study investigated the complex phenotypic and genetic response of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) seedlings to co-infections by F. circinatum, the causal agent of pine pitch canker disease, and the oomycetes Phytophthora xcambivora and P. parvispora. Monterey pine seedlings were wound-inoculated with each single pathogen and with the combinations F. circinatum/P. xcambivora and F. circinatum/P. parvispora. Initially, seedlings inoculated only with F. circinatum showed less severe symptoms than seedlings co-inoculated or inoculated only with P. xcambivora or P. parvispora. However, 30 days post-inoculation (dpi), all inoculated seedlings, including those inoculated only with F. circinatum, showed severe symptoms with no significant differences among treatments. The transcriptomic profiles of three genes encoding pathogenesis-related proteins, i.e., chitinase (PR3), thaumatin-like protein (PR5), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), and the pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC)-encoding gene were analyzed at various time intervals after inoculation. In seedlings inoculated with single pathogens, F. circinatum stimulated the up-regulation of all genes, while between the two oomycetes, only P. xcambivora induced significant up-regulations. In seedlings co-inoculated with F. circinatum and P. xcambivora or P. parvispora none of the genes showed a significant over-expression 4 dpi. In contrast, at 11 dpi, significant up-regulation was observed for PR5 in the combination F. circinatum/P. xcambivora and PDC in the combination F. circinatum/P. parvispora, thus suggesting a possible synergism of multiple infections in triggering this plant defense mechanism.


Forests ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 3353-3368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Evira-Recuenco ◽  
Eugenia Iturritxa ◽  
Rosa Raposo

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (6) ◽  
pp. 657-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. R. Gordon

Pitch canker, caused by Fusarium circinatum, is a disease affecting pines in many locations throughout the world. The pathosystem was originally described in the southeastern (SE) United States and was identified in California in 1986. Limited vegetative compatibility group (VCG) diversity in the California population of F. circinatum, relative to the SE United States, suggests the former is a recently established and clonally propagating population. Although the much greater VCG diversity found in the SE United States is suggestive of out-crossing, molecular markers indicate that many vegetatively incompatible isolates are clonally related. This implies that VCG diversity may derive, at least in part, from somatic mutations rather than sexual reproduction. Pitch canker is damaging to many pine species and one at particular risk is Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), which is widely grown in plantations and is highly susceptible to pitch canker. However, some Monterey pines are resistant to pitch canker and some severely diseased trees have been observed to recover. The absence of new infections on these trees reflects the operation of systemic induced resistance, apparently in response to repeated infection by the pitch canker pathogen.


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