Relative Susceptibilities of Five Pine Species to Three Populations of the Pinewood Nematode. L. David Dwinell, Principal Research Plant Pathologist, USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Athens, GA 30602. Plant Dis. 69:440-442. Accepted for publication 11 December 1984. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-440.

Seedlings of eastern white, loblolly, pond, slash, and Virginia pines were inoculated in a greenhouse at the rate of 4,000 nematodes per tree with three populations of the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) from declining Virginia pines. Twelve weeks after inoculation, pine mortality and susceptibility rank were highest for slash pine, moderate for eastern white, loblolly, and pond pines, and lowest for Virginia pine, which was highly resistant. Mortality was also significantly related to differences in virulence of nematode populations. There was a highly significant correlation between percent mortality and mean number of nematodes recovered from recently killed seedlings. The greatest number was recovered from slash pine, and successively fewer were recovered from eastern white, loblolly, pond, and Virginia pines.

Keyword(s): Pinus elliottii var. elliottii, P. serotina, P. strobus, P. taeda, P. virginiana.