VIEW ARTICLE

Influence of Blister Rust on Inorganic Solute Concentrations in Western White Pine. Neil E. Martin, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, Utah 84401, stationed in Moscow, Idaho, at Forestry Sciences Laboratory, maintained in cooperation with the University of Idaho; Phytopathology 62:226-229. Accepted for publication 7 September 1971. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-62-226.

In needle tissue of western white pine infected with Cronartium ribicola, N, K, and Ca were less and P, Mg, and Na were greater than in noninfected trees. Cankered tissue showed greater concentrations of N, K, and P than in either rust-free bark or bark from healthy trees. In contrast, Ca levels in infected bark were lower than in healthy or rust-free bark and lowest in sporulating canker tissue. Concentration of Mg varied in the following ascending order: diseased tree bark, periphery of canker, healthy tree bark, and sporulating canker tissue. The data support the hypothesis that cankers are metabolic sinks and that localized infection affects mineral distribution in the total tree.