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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

1997

Abstract

Pole-size Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) were inoculated with two fungi (Ophiostoma pseudotsugae (Rumb.) von Arx and Leptographium abietinum (Peck) Wingf.) associated with the Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins) to evaluate their pathogenicity. Pruning the lowermost 30% of the live crown had no effect on host tree defenses. Inoculation with O. pseudotsugae produced significantly longer lesions in the phloem and resulted in a significantly greater percentage of necrotic phloem than inoculation with L. abietinum. The percentage of occluded sapwood was also greater following O. pseudotsugae inoculations, but the difference was not statistically significant. Individual lesion lengths declined significantly with increasing inoculation density, but the total percentage of necrotic phloem increased significantly. Both fungi appeared to be better adapted to grow in sapwood than in phloem. None of the inoculated trees were dead after 5 months, but some were chlorotic with less than 30% functional sapwood within the inoculation band. The results suggest that these fungi may assist the Douglas-fir beetle in overcoming the defenses of live trees.