sdu faculty of forestry journal special edition 2009 - Orman Fakültesi

SDÜ ORMAN FAKÜLTESİ DERGİSİ
disease and cankers on stems and branches (Brookhouser and Peterson, 1971;
Peterson, 1977) and can have devastating effects on various conifers when it is
associated with stress-inducing factors (Sinclair et al., 1987; Swart et al., 1987;
Chou and Mackenzie, 1988; Nicholls and Ostry 1990; Stanosz et al., 2001).
Although diseases caused by the fungus are usually on trees under stress,
healthy trees, especially nursery seedlings can also be infected (Palmer and
Nichols, 1985). Pinus species are the most common hosts of the fungus, but Abies
Mill., Chamaecyparis Spach., Cupressus L., Larix Mill., Picea A. Dietr.,
Pseudotsuga Carriere and Thuja L. species are among hosts of the pathogen
(Punithalingam and Waterston, 1970; Swart and Wingfield, 1991). Previous studies
reported significant interactions among host species, environmental factors and the
virulence of the isolates (Swart and Wingfield, 1991; Blodgett and Stanosz, 1997;
Adams et al., 2002; Blodgett and Bonello, 2003).
Two different S. sapinea morphotypes have been described and are referred to
as A and B (Palmer et al., 1987; Smith and Stanosz, 1995; de Wet et al., 2000;
Burguess and Wingfield, 2001). While D. pinea is accepted name for morphotype
A, morphotype B has been recognized as Diplodia scrobiculata J. de Wet, B.
Slippers & M. J. Wingfield (de Wet et al., 2003). It is reported that they differ in
morphology, cultural characteristics and aggressiveness against host plants (Smith
and Stanosz, 1995; Blodgett and Stanosz, 1997; Blodgett and Bonello, 2003).
Eventhough D. pinea was recorded sixteen years ago for the first time on Pinus
pinea and Pinus pinaster (Unligil and Ertas, 1993), very little is known about the
distribution and the damage of the disease by far in Turkey (Doğmuş- Lehtijärvi,
et al. 2007). Studies carried out in the western part of Taurus Mountains located in
the Mediterranean part of Turkey, in Isparta province showed that D. pinea was the
main agent of the shoot blight of Calabrian pines (Pinus brutia Ten.) (Doğmuş-
Lehtijärvi et al., 2007). The aim of this study was to determine the pathogenicity of
D. pinea isolates obtained from P. brutia showing shoot blight symptoms, on 6
conifer species, under field conditions.
2- MATERIALS AND METHODS
Five-year-old potted Pinus nigra Arnold, Pinus brutia Ten, Pinus sylvestris L.,
Cedrus libani A. Rich., Abies nordmanniana ssp. bornmülleriana Mattfelt
seedlings obtained from Eskişehir and Balıkesir forest nurseries and 3- year-old
Juniperus excelsa Bieb seedlings obtained from Eğirdir forest nursery were used as
the plant materials. Fungal materials were the five D. pinea isolates obtained from
the Calabrian pine (P. brutia) shoots showing blight symptoms in Aşağı-Gökdere
location of Isparta province, Turkey. The isolates were confirmed as D. pinea by
Glen Stanosz, (Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
personal communication) using species-specific primers (Smith and Stanosz 2006).
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