Abstract
The horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) is an invasive pest of horse chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) and has spread through Europe since 1985. Horse chestnut leaf blotch is a fungal disease caused by Guignardia aesculi (Botryosphaeriales: Botryosphaeriaceae) that also seriously damages horse chestnut trees in Europe. The interaction between the leaf miner and the fungus has not yet been sufficiently described. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess leaf damage inflicted to horse chestnut by both C. ohridella and G. aesculi during the vegetation season and to model their interaction. The damage to leaf area was measured monthly from May to September 2013 in České Budějovice, the Czech Republic using digital image analysis of sampled leaves. A simple phenomenological model describing the expected dynamics of the two species was developed. The study revealed that the damage caused by both the pests and the fungus varied significantly among sampling sites within the city. The overall leaf damage exceeded 50% in no-raking sites in August. The mathematical model indicates that infestation by C. ohridella is more affected by G. aesculi than vice versa. Guignardia aesculi is thus the superior competitor of the two species. Our findings highlight the delicate interplay between insect pests and fungal pathogens and the spatiotemporal dynamics influencing them, calling for more research in this understudied area.
Highlights
The horse chestnut tree Aesculus hippocastanum L. (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) is a deciduous tree widespread in European countries
The tree is attacked by an invasive pest, the horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka and Dimic (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) which was described for the first time in 1985 near Lake Ohrid where it occurred in the area between Macedonia and Albania [6] and which probably represents the origin of this species [7]
Changes in the average percentage of damage and the range of damaged leaf area inflicted by C. ohridella and G. aesculi across all sites during the vegetation season indicated a cumulative pattern (Table 2)
Summary
The horse chestnut tree Aesculus hippocastanum L. (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) is a deciduous tree widespread in European countries. (Sapindales: Sapindaceae) is a deciduous tree widespread in European countries. The horse chestnut tree Aesculus hippocastanum L. This species originated in the Epirus region and the foothills of the Pindus Mountains in northwestern Greece and since the. Horse chestnut trees are frequently grown in city parks where they provide shade and reduce the urban heat island effect. The tree is attacked by an invasive pest, the horse chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka and Dimic (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) which was described for the first time in 1985 near Lake Ohrid where it occurred in the area between Macedonia and Albania [6] and which probably represents the origin of this species [7]. In the Czech Republic, it was first recorded in 1993 and in the course of five years, it spread across the whole country [8,9]
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