Emerging Needle Blight Diseases in Atlantic Pinus Ecosystems of Spain

Ortíz De Urbina E., Mesanza N., Aragonés A., Raposo R., Elvira-Recuenco M., Boqué R., Patten C., Aitken J., Iturritxa E (2017) - Emerging Needle Blight Diseases in Atlantic Pinus Ecosystems of Spain - Forests

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

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SI

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8

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