Effects of Inoculation Treatment with Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans on Dieback of Loblolly and Slash Pine Seedlings. E. G. Kuhlman, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, Athens, GA 30602. Plant Dis. 71:161-162. Accepted for publication 22 September 1986. 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, 1987. DOI: 10.1094/PD-71-0161.

Pinhole or knife-slit wounds were more effective courts of entry for the pitch canker disease organism in greenhouse inoculations than wounds created either by removing needle fascicles or by clipping branches. Moist incubation for 24 hr immediately after inoculation did not enhance the ability of Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans to cause dieback. Inoculation of fresh wounds on loblolly and slash pine seedlings produced 78% dieback, whereas inoculation of 21-day-old wounds produced only 20% dieback.

Keyword(s): Pinus elliottii, P. taeda, pitch canker disease.