Ohio State University Extension Bulletin

Ornamental Plants
Annual Reports and Research Reviews
2001

Special Circular 186-02

Progress in Research on Systemic Induced Resistance in Austrian Pine Against Shoot Blight (Formerly Known as Diplodia Tip Blight)

Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello,
The Ohio State University,
Department of Plant Pathology;

James T. Blodgett,
The Ohio State University,
Department of Plant Pathology;

Daniel A. Herms,
The Ohio State University/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center/Entomology

Sphaeropsis Shoot Blight of Austrian Pine

Austrian pine (P. nigra) is endemic to the Mediterranean basin (Barbero etal., 1998), but it was one of the first tree introductions to the United States and was first reported in cultivation in 1759 (van Haverbeke, 1990). Today this species is commonly planted as an ornamental in the United States.

Sphaeropsis shoot blight and canker, caused by Sphaeropsis sapinea (formerly known as Diplodia pinea, the cause of Diplodia tip blight), has resulted in extensive damage to conifers throughout the world. Pines in Ohio and the rest of the Midwest are extensively affected by this disease. The pathogen also causes crown wilt, collar rot, and root disease. Pines are affected from seedling stage to mature size and damage occurs in natural stands, nurseries, Christmas tree and ornamental plantings, and in plantations (Chou, 1976; Gibson, 1979; Nicholls, Ostry, and Prey, 1977; Stanosz and Cummings Carlson, 1996).

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