Evaluation of the Susceptibility of Several Czech Conifer Provenances to Fusarium circinatum

Jorge Martín-García,Miloň Dvořák,Juan Flores-Pacheco,Julio Diez,Aneta Lukačevičová

doi:10.3390/f9020072

Jorge Martín-García, Miloň Dvořák + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/f9020072

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Abstract

Pine pitch canker (PPC), caused by Fusarium circinatum, is considered among the most important diseases affecting pines in many locations throughout the world. In Europe, F. circinatum is currently present in the Iberian Peninsula, posing a high risk of its spread into currently disease-free countries in Europe. In the present study, the susceptibility of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, and Larix decidua originating in the Czech Republic to F. circinatum was tested. Furthermore, the presence of asymptomatic yet infected seedlings was also checked. This study demonstrated the pathogenicity of F. circinatum to the Czech provenance of P. sylvestris, whereas Picea abies and Larix decidua proved to be tolerant. The reisolation of F. circinatum beyond the inoculation point demonstrated that this quarantine pathogen is able to infect the three conifers tested, giving rise to asymptomatic seedlings for at least eight and a half months. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which the presence of symptomless seedlings has been recorded in the genera Picea and Larix. This finding points out that the European legislation would fail to avoid the risk of new introductions via symptomless seedlings, since this legislation is only restricted to plants of the genus Pinus and the species Pseudotsuga menziesii.

Highlights

Forests are important ecosystems from both ecological and economic perspectives
The present study demonstrated the pathogenicity of F. circinatum to to the the
The present study demonstrated the susceptibility of the Czech provenance of P. sylvestris to

Summary

Introduction

Forests are important ecosystems from both ecological and economic perspectives. Approximately33.85% (2,669,850 hectares) of the Czech Republic is aforested, of which 72.1% are conifer forests [1].Among the conifers, Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and to a lesser extent, European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) are the most important species. Forests are important ecosystems from both ecological and economic perspectives. 33.85% (2,669,850 hectares) of the Czech Republic is aforested, of which 72.1% are conifer forests [1]. Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), and to a lesser extent, European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) are the most important species. P. abies and P. sylvestris are native species covering 1,312,204 and 425,687 ha, respectively (i.e., 50.5% and 16.4% of the total forest area in the Czech Republic) [1]. Invasive alien species are a major threat to forest ecosystems. Forest pathogens introduced into countries as a result of globalization of trade and free market practices are a major challenge for Europe [2,3]. This, together with climatic change, can increase the risk of spreading and establishing new pathogens in currently disease-free countries [4]

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