Canadian Forest Service Publications

Quantifying relationships between root rot in a white spruce plantation and sporophores of Inonotus tomentosus. 2005. Whitney, R.D.; Fleming, R.A. Forest Pathology 35: 75-84.

Year: 2005

Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre

Catalog ID: 26432

Language: English

Availability: PDF (request by e-mail)

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Abstract

The relationship between the occurrence of sporophores of the root rot pathogen Inonotus tomentosus (Basidiomycota, Hymenochaetaceae) and disease symptoms was studied in a white spruce plantation (Picea glauca) in Canada over a period of 14 years. Numbers of sporophore clusters (three or more sporophores within 1 m of each other) were well correlated with numbers of infected living or dead trees (r = 0.64–0.86, p = 0.000–0.003). Infected trees may have sporophores around them before external symptoms of disease occur on the tree. As numbers of dead trees increased, the numbers of infected living trees remained constant, indicating increased infection within the stand. However, the number of sporophores varied considerably between the years. The diagnostic value of sporophores for tomentosus root rot is discussed.