The early development of disease caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi in Eucalyptus marginata and Eucalyptus calophylla grooving in rehabilitated bauxite mined areas

Abstract

The soil‐borne plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi is widely distributed in the jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of Western Australia. Infested areas of the forest are mined for bauxite and the presence of the pathogen could after the survival of trees re‐established after mining. Monitoring of 21 revegetated bauxite mined areas found that survival of jarrah and marri (Eucalyptus calophylla) trees was high (85–92% and 93–99%, respectively) after 5–7 years but P. cinnamomi was recovered from dead trees. To identify trees for more detailed study, plant symptoms of stress such as suppressed growth, wilting, yellowing of crown, coppice and epicormic growth and visible stem lesions were used. Over a period of 15 months, 30 E. marginata and 28 E. calophylla were carefully excavated and examined for lesions and the presence of P. cinnamomi. P. cinnamomi was consistently isolated from the lignotuber and collar regions of both hosts but never from the roots alone, except in one instance from E. calophylla where it was isolated from a non‐lesioned root. In E. calophylla, the lignotuber appears to be very susceptible to invasion by P. cinnamomi in contrast to the roots which appear resistant. The invasion of the pathogen into the lignotuber and collar regions of both species was consistently associated with ponding of water around the plants. This ponding persists for many hours to days after rain and appears to provide an infection court for P. cinnamomi. Development of rehabilitation procedures to reduce this ponding will minimize the risk of tree deaths caused by this pathogen.