PESTS AND DISEASES OF FORESTRY IN NEW ZEALAND
Dothistroma in British Columbia
DOTHISTROMA NEEDLE BLIGHT IN BRITISH
COLUMBIA AND AN INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
ALLIANCE
Back to Dothistroma
See also needle diseases of radiata pine
From Forest health News No. 167, October 2006
It was with great anticipation that I accepted an invitation to speak
at the Western International Forest Disease Work Conference
(WIFDWC) held at Smithers, British Columbia, in early October.
I had seen photographs and reports (along with various
explanations) of the Dothistroma outbreak in BC and was looking
forward to seeing it at first hand. We visited a number of sites
where effects of Dothistroma needle blight were plainly evident
(see below) but, as a result of a dry summer, little current infection
was seen. Dothistroma is causing serious disease in many Pinus
contorta plantations in BC and at the stand level damage appears
very similar to Pinus radiata stands in New Zealand that were
not sprayed for a number of years. Close-up inspection of foliage
revealed some differences; for instance, the red bands on
P.contorta in BC are not as red as those seen on P. radiata or P.nigra
var. laricio in New Zealand, and sometimes black fruit bodies
(assumed to be Dothistroma stromata) were seen on lodgepole
pine needles without the red bands. However, these differences
are not unexpected as symptoms commonly vary between hosts.
Effects of successive years of Dothistroma needle blight on Pinus contorta in BC
After the WIFDWC, a meeting of Dothistroma researchers was
held, with the aim of developing a global collaborative research
effort on Dothistroma needle blight. Discussions were held over
2 days and representatives from the UK, USA, Canada, Czech
Republic, and NZ attended. Discussion was based on the themes:
disease trends, understanding the host and pathogen, disease
management, practical research issues, and research direction. A
“wish list” of research priorities was developed which included
climate and disease trends, host susceptibility in different
countries, host tolerance to disease and resistance, variation in
pathogenicity and role of dothistromin, genetic variation,
metabolite profiling, and relationship of endophytes and disease
resistance. The critical factor now is to obtain funding, from
potentially a variety of sources, so that the research programme
that was mapped out can be undertaken.
Lindsay Bulman
