A disease, causing severe flagging of young western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl.), was investigated at Hill Siding and Arrow Park, British Columbia. The primary symptom of the disease was flagging of twigs, resulting from a rapid necrosis of terminal shoots and less commonly from girdling-lesions on 2-year-old growth. A small percentage of the severely flagged trees died. Damaging effects of the disease were confined to trees under 40 years of age and to stand forms with a higher than average component of white pine in the susceptible age class. Efforts to isolate the causal fungus yielded 22 fungi in culture, only two of which occurred with sufficient frequency to warrant further study, an unknown fungus "B” and Pullularia pullulans (deBary) Berkhout. A search for fructifications associated with the disease revealed apothecia of a Tympanis, very similar to those of Tympanis pithya (Karst.) Karst., to be associated with 16 per cent of a random sample of 425 flagged twigs. The pycnidia of the imperfect stage of Tympanis sp. occurred less commonly. Spore cultures from Tympanis apothecia were different from those of any of the 22 fungi isolated in tissue culture and it seemed probable that Tympanis occurred as a pioneer saprophyte on killed twigs. External signs of Pullularia pullulans occurred commonly in the form of erumpent sclerotia, and external hyphae with resting spores. A scale insect, resembling Matsucoccus sp., was found at a high infestation level in one stand and less commonly in the remaining stands. Reasons for discounting the insect as a primary causal agent of flagging are outlined. Field inoculations with Pullularia pullulans and greenhouse inoculations with Pullularia pullulans and the unknown fungus "B" produced questionable results with the latter fungus, but indicated Pullularia pullulans to be pathogenic under the conditions imposed by the experiment. Results of inoculation experiments are snmmarized in four tables. The historical background and cultural description of Pullularia pullulans is outlined. Experimental and observational evidence suggests that the fungus is one of the causal agents, and probably the primary agent for the flagging. On the basis of the limited damage caused by the flagging and the sporadic occurrence of the susceptible stand form, control measures are deemed unwarranted. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Mycorrhizal synthesis studies revealed that allopatric populations of Suillus granulatus differ in host specificity. Tissue cultures of Suillus granulatus used were from Nepal, (associated with Pinus wallichiana), Korea (Pinus densiflora) and the U.S. (Pinus strobus). Mycorrhizal effectiveness was used to measure host specificity. Useful characters for measuring mycorrhizal effectiveness were determined by ANOVAs between the uninoculated controls and mycorrhizal treatments. In addition, those characters which were stable within one population were determined via ANOVA. Useful characters, as defined by these two tests were: shoot wet weight, total wet weight, percentage mycorrhizal short roots, shoot dry weight, total dry weight and Hartig net penetration. These characters were subsequently used to measure variation in mycorrhizal effectiveness among the allopatric populations of Suillus granulatus. Isolates associated with Pinus strobus were most effective with Pinus strobus and least effective with the other trees, whereas isolates from Pinus wallichiana and Pinus densiflora showed variable effectiveness with all three trees. Phenetic analyses used to determine how similarly the isolates responded with the hosts confirmed these results. We conclude that isolates associated with Pinus strobus are most specific for this host, whereas isolates from the other two trees are not host specific. These results are discussed and hypotheses put forward to explain them. / Master of Science

A decline of eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L., has been observed for over 80 years in the eastern United States. The syndrome has not always been discussed as a decline but reported under a variety of names. Symptoms vary with time required for trees to die, but generally include chlorotic foliage, in many cases needle loss producing a tufted appearance, premature annual loss of needles, drooping of needles in some cases, shriveling of bark after a period of time, and eventual death after a period of months to years. An investigation into the causes of decline on landscape sites in Virginia included an indexing technique to compile and analyze, systematically, pertinent data from good and poor quality sites. Over 300 variables were studied from over 100 observations to narrow down the apparent causal factors for future investigation in a controlled environment. Observations were organized into two groups for analysis, one called the “decline habitat” and the other the “natural habitat”. Natural habitat observations consisted of trees from a site in the Jefferson National Forest (VA) and decline habitat observations consisted of trees from mostly western Virginia landscapes. After thorough study for a period of two years, a group of growth indicators were weighed against a group of site quality indicators. Growth quality indicators included: a height vs. age index, a 10-year compilation of tree ring increments and inter-branch whorl measurements converted to percent growth per year, and seasonal foliar color changes using a Munsell rating index. Site quality indicators centered around the soils with soil pH, clay content, amounts of compaction and soil disturbance as the most prominent factors derived from the study. Soil pH averaged 6.95 with a range of 5.9-8.1 for decline habitats; while the pH averaged 5.50 with a range of 5.0-6.0 for the natural habitat. Clay content averaged 37.05% for decline sites vs. 17.76% for the natural site for soils above and in the root zones of white pines. Clay content averaged 43.99% for decline sites vs. 17.95% for the natural site for soils beneath the root zones of white pines. Soils under decline habitat trees were highly compacted with measurements as high as 1806.1 psi to penetrate some decline habitat soils, while the natural habitat soils had little if any compaction, with readings of between 138 and 273 psi. Soil disturbance was not present in the natural site while present in most decline sites. The major cause of disturbance was construction and earth-moving activities around landscape sites. Important abiotic factors which worked in concert with soil factors included poor planting practices, competition with tree feeder roots from turfgrass, chemical pollutants, and mechanical damage by weather and man. Biotic factors were viewed as secondary agents attracted to already weakened trees after initiation of decline by the previously discussed factors. Separate studies of seasonal foliar color changes and the initial finding of the pinewood nematode in Virginia aided in identifying additional indicators of and contributors to decline. / Ph. D.

Ovariole development and termination of diapause in the white pine weevil were studied by dissecting weevils at various intervals throughout the winter. Old-generation adults brought into the laboratory November produced viable eggs within 5 days. New generation adults brought into the laboratory on November 4 produced viable eggs during November. Viable eggs were deposited by other new-generation adults after 10 to 15 day. at room temperature in winter. On each of the 3 collection date studied, new generation adult produced viable eggs without copulating after collection from hibernation indicating that capulation occurs in the fall. There was no evidence of progressive ovariole development throughout the winter. New generation adults which were isolated as soon as they emerged from the shoots and maintained at constant room temperature had poorly developed ovarioles by November 20 and produced no eggs. Weevil flight and dispersal through a white pine plantation was studied by releasing 409 marked weevils at a central point within a l431-tree plantation and checking every tree at 5-day intervals. Weevils flew readily at the time of re1ease. Marked weevils were recorded throughout the plantation. which extended as far as 330 feet from the release point. A few weevils were observed on scattered white pines 200-300 yards from the release point beyond a hardwood barrier. Total numbers of weevils present on the leaders increased from April 26 to May 5, after which numbers steadily decreased. By June 15, only 20 weevils were observed on the leaders. / Ph. D.

Procerum root disease of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), caused by Leptographium procerum (Kendr.) Wingf., has been epidemic in Virginia Christmas tree plantations since 1990. Symptoms of chlorosis, wilt, and decreased apical growth resemble those of water stress. Resin infiltration of the xylem at the stem base may be responsible for vascular occlusion leading to severe water deficits and mortality. The pathogen has been isolated from the roots of ozone-sensitive eastern white pines in the field, although not from nearby tolerant trees, and it may be that ozone sensitivity predisposes the trees to infection. The objectives of my Studies were to investigate the physiology of diseased white pines, and to determine the effects of ozone fumigation on disease development. Impacts of vascular occlusion upon host water relations and gas exchange were investigated in 8-yr-old, plantation-grown, white pine Christmas trees. Disease severity was estimated as the proportion of resin-soaked cross-sectional area at the base of the stem. The linear response of a suite of six physiological variables to disease severity was highly significant. Individually, the variables pre-dawn water potential, daily change in pre-dawn to mid-day water potential, stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic and transpiration rates all decreased significantly with increasing disease severity. Fumigation studies were conducted on white and loblolly (P. taeda L.) pine seedlings to determine if ozone exposure increased the incidence of root disease or the amount of stem tissue colonized by L. procerum. Roots were inoculated by soil drenching with conidial suspension, and stems were wounded at the base and inoculated with mycelium. Beginning 24 h post-inoculation, and for 14 consecutive days, seedlings were fumigated in closed chambers with charcoal-filtered air or 200 ppb ozone for 5 h/day, then removed to a charcoal-filtered greenhouse. Six weeks post-inoculation, root and stem tissue were plated on a medium selective for L. procerum. Ozone treatment did not significantly affect the proportion of diseased roots per seedling or the vertical colonization of stem tissue in seedlings of either species. / Ph. D.