Cytospora

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Cytospora
Snowlike (8197957781).jpg
Dead spruces that have succumbed to Cytospora canker found in McIntyre Wild Area, Loyalsock State Forest, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. Resin oozes from the cankers, solidifying into a thick, whitish mass resembling snow or hoarfrost.
Scientific classification
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Cytospora
Species

Species include:

Cytospora is a genus of ascomycete fungi. Cytospora species are known as plant pathogens.

Contents

Pathology

Cytospora canker was observed by G. B. Ouellette [1] in all the plantations of white and Norway spruces examined in the Province of Quebec, as well as in some natural stands of indigenous spruce. Disease incidence was particularly high in the Grand-Mère and Saint-Lazare plantations where it had been present since at least 1943 and 1955, respectively. Periods favourable to infection had occurred at fairly regular intervals, and the aggressiveness of canker development varied year by year. Rainfall, temperature, and disease intensity were not clearly correlated.

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Spruce Genus of evergreen, coniferous tree

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. Picea is the sole genus in the subfamily Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 m tall when mature, and have whorled branches and conical form. They can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures on the branches, and by their cones, which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth.

<i>Pinus elliottii</i>

Pinus elliottii, commonly known as slash pine, is a conifer tree in the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after the "slashes" – swampy ground overgrown with trees and bushes – that constitute its habitat. Other common names include swamp pine, yellow slash pine, and southern Florida pine. Historically, slash pine has been an important economic timber for naval stores, turpentine, and resin. Slash pine has two different varieties: P. e. var. elliottii and P. e. var. densa. Slash pine is known for its unusually high strength, especially for pine. It exceeds many hardwoods and is even comparable to very dense woods such as ironwood.

Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.

Burl tree growth

A burl or bur or burr is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.

Tree breeding

Tree breeding is the application of genetic, reproductive biology and economics principles to the genetic improvement and management of forest trees. In contrast to the selective breeding of livestock, arable crops, and horticultural flowers over the last few centuries, the breeding of trees, with the exception of fruit trees, is a relatively recent occurrence.

Blue spruce Species of tree

The blue spruce, also commonly known as green spruce, white spruce, Colorado spruce, or Colorado blue spruce, is a species of spruce tree. It is native to North America, and is found in growing zones 1 through 7. Its natural range extends from northern New Mexico through Colorado and Utah to Wyoming and into Alberta and British Columbia, but it has been widely introduced elsewhere and is used as an ornamental tree in many places far beyond its native range. The blue spruce has blue-green coloured needles and is a coniferous tree.

Citrus canker

Citrus canker is a disease affecting Citrus species caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis. Infection causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees, including lime, oranges, and grapefruit. While not harmful to humans, canker significantly affects the vitality of citrus trees, causing leaves and fruit to drop prematurely; a fruit infected with canker is safe to eat, but too unsightly to be sold.

Sphaeropsis blight

Sphaeropsis blight, also known as Diplodia tip blight, is a widespread disease caused by an opportunistic fungal pathogen, Diplodia sapinea. It is found in “both hemispheres between the latitudes 30° and 50° north and south". The diseases symptoms include: damping off and collar rot of seedlings, stem canker, rood disease, and, most commonly, shoot blight. These symptoms have caused significant economic loss to nurseries and pine plantations. In a nursery in the north-central United States, losses of 35% have been reported. Shoot blight and eventual die back can cause a reduction of marketable volume in timber by 63%. Infection of terminal shoots can result in dead-top which significantly limits the usable length of the tree trunk. The presence of the pathogen in concert with severe weather conditions can lead to extreme loss. Following a severe hailstorm in South Africa, nearly 5,000 acres of pine plantation were infected with Diplodia tip blight. It was necessary to prematurely harvest large swaths of the plantations resulting in a loss of 45%. Areas that were not harvested prematurely still suffered an average timber loss of 11%. 

Guy Ouellette is a Quebec politician from Canada, police officer and author. He is the current Member of National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Chomedey in Laval. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he was expelled from the party caucus in October 2018 for purportedly leaking classified information to the then-opposition Coalition Avenir Québec.

The plant pathogenic fungus Leucostoma kunzei is the causal agent of Leucostoma canker a disease of spruce trees found in the Northern Hemisphere, predominantly on Norway spruce and Colorado blue spruce. This disease is one of the most common and detrimental stem diseases of Picea species in the northeastern United States, yet it also affects other coniferous species. Rarely does it kill its host tree; however, the disease does disfigure by killing host branches and causing resin exudation from perennial lesions on branches or trunks.

<i>Choristoneura fumiferana</i> Species of moth

Choristoneura fumiferana, the eastern spruce budworm, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae native to the eastern United States and Canada. The caterpillars feed on the needles of spruce and fir trees. Eastern spruce budworm populations can experience significant oscillations, with large outbreaks sometimes resulting in wide scale tree mortality. The first recorded outbreaks of the spruce budworm in the United States occurred in about 1807, and since 1909 there have been waves of budworm outbreaks throughout the eastern United States and Canada. In Canada, the major outbreaks occurred in periods circa 1910–20, c. 1940–50, and c. 1970–80, each of which impacted millions of hectares of forest. Longer-term tree-ring studies suggest that spruce budworm outbreaks have been recurring approximately every three decades since the 16th century, and paleoecological studies suggest the spruce budworm has been breaking out in eastern North America for thousands of years.

Beer in Quebec

Quebec beer is the beer brewed in Quebec, Canada, often with ingredients from Quebec itself and generally following the recipes of the French, Belgian and British brewing traditions. Generally, the beers brewed in Quebec differ from those in the rest of North America because of the relative importance of the French and Belgian traditions alongside that of Great Britain. German-type beers are also produced by some breweries.

Thousand cankers disease

Thousand cankers disease (TCD) is a recently recognized disease of certain walnuts. The disease results from the combined activity of the walnut twig beetle and a canker producing fungus, Geosmithia morbida. Until July 2010 the disease was only known to the western United States where over the past decade it has been involved in several large scale die-offs of walnut, particularly black walnut, Juglans nigra. However, in late July 2010 a well-established outbreak of the disease was found in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. This new finding is the first locating it within the native range of its susceptible host, black walnut. In 2013, an outbreak was found in the Veneto region of Italy, where the disease has been found on both black walnut and English walnut.

Bot canker of oak is a disease on stems, branches and twigs of oak trees in Europe and North America. The casual agent of Bot canker of oak is the fungus Botryosphaeria corticola. Bot canker of oak causes lesions and cankers on a wide range of oaks in Europe and most recently live oaks in North America. Some infections were formerly attributed to Botryosphaeria stevensii, but most likely represent infections by Botryosphaeria corticola. Botryosphaeria corticola is distinguishable from Botryosphaeria stevensii via ITS rDNA sequencing.

Septoria musiva, correct taxonomic name: Sphaerulina musiva, is an ascomycete fungus responsible of a leaf spot and canker disease on poplar trees. It is native on the eastern cottonwood poplar Populus deltoides, causing only a leaf spot symptom. On susceptible hybrid poplars, S. musiva causes necrotic lesions on the leaves which lead to premature defoliation, and cankers on the stem and branches which can reduce growth, predispose the tree to colonisation by secondary organisms, and cause stem breakage.

Leucostoma canker is a fungal disease that can kill stone fruit. The disease is caused by the plant pathogens Leucostoma persoonii and Leucostoma cinctum (teleomorph) and Cytospora leucostoma and Cytospora cincta (anamorphs). The disease can have a variety of signs and symptoms depending on the part of the tree infected. One of the most lethal symptoms of the disease are the Leucostoma cankers. The severity of the Leucostoma cankers is dependent on the part of the plant infected. The fungus infects through injured, dying or dead tissues of the trees. Disease management can consist of cultural management practices such as pruning, late season fertilizers or chemical management through measures such as insect control. Leucostoma canker of stone fruit can cause significant economic losses due to reduced fruit production or disease management practices. It is one of the most important diseases of stone fruit tree all over the world.

<i>Ceratocystis platani</i> Species of fungus

Ceratocystis platani is a fungus that causes a disease on plane trees in the genus Platanus.

The foamy bark canker is a disease affecting oak trees in California caused by the fungus Geosmithia pallida and spread by the Western oak bark beetle. This disease is only seen through the symbiosis of the bark beetles and the fungal pathogen. The bark beetles target oak trees and bore holes through the peridermal tissues, making tunnels within the phloem. The fungal spores are brought into these tunnels by the beetles and begin to colonize the damaged cells inside the tunnels. Symptoms of the developing fungus include wet discoloration seeping from the beetle entry holes as the fungus begins to consume phloem and likely other tissues. If bark is removed, necrosis of the phloem can be observed surrounding the entry hole(s). As the disease progresses, a reddish sap and foamy liquid oozes from entry holes, thus giving the disease the name Foamy bark canker. Eventually after the disease has progressed, the tree dies. This disease is important because of its detrimental effects on oak trees and its ability to spread to several new Californian counties in just a couple years.

Spruce broom rust or yellow witches' broom rust is a fungal plant disease caused by the basidiomycete fungus known as Chrysomyxa arctosphyli. It occurs exclusively in North America, with the most concentrated outbreaks occurring in northern Arizona and southern Colorado on blue and Engelmann spruce, as well as in Alaska on black and white spruce. This disease alternates its life cycle between two hosts, with the spruce serving as the primary host and bearberry serving as the secondary or alternate host. The name for the disease comes from the distinctive “witches broom”, commonly yellow in color, which forms on the spruce after young needles have been infected. Management must be carried out through physical or mechanical methods, such as the pruning of brooms or the removal of the secondary host from the area, because no chemical control measures have yet been determined to be economically effective. Generally, spruce broom rust is seen as a mostly cosmetic issue, and it is very rarely the direct cause of tree death; however, research has shown a reduction in overall productivity and health of infected trees, making it an important issue for logging and timber companies.

Agnes Martine "Bella" Ouellette was a Canadian Québécoise actor who worked mainly in theatre and radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

References

  1. Ouellette, G.B.; Conway, J.M.; Bard, G. 1965. Fréquence et intensité du chancre cytosporéen dans les plantations d’épinette du Québec. For. Chron. 41(4):444–453.