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Start of funding 01.07.2015

Dendro-ecological Evaluation of Pitch Canker Resistance in managed Native Monterey Pine ( Pinus radiata) Stands

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Pitch canker, Fusarium circinatum, is a problem for the coastal forests of California, especially in the native Monterey pine, Pinus radiata, stands. This project will examine the effects of pitch canker using different management techniques as well as study how pitch canker affects individual Monterey pine trees. In 2001, twenty-seven plots - nine control plots, nine burn plots, and nine lop and scatter plots - were created in a portion of the Ano Nuevo Monterey pine stand with twenty-one of those plots planted with Monterey pine seedlings that were taken from known pitch canker resistant Mother trees. The seedlings were monitored in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2015 for survivability as well as the growth and resistance to pitch canker. The findings from this study will increase the knowledge base of the effects of pitch canker in native Monterey pine stands with the hope that new forest management techniques will be applied in the stands throughout the central coast of California thus insuring conservation of Monterey pine.

Final report:
Within the scope of the cooperation between the Technische Universität München and the California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly) - funded by Bacatec – the effects of the biotic pathogen Fusarium circinatum (pitch canker) on the vitality and the growth of Pinus radiata (Monterey pine) was analysed. Pinus radiata is worldwide the most frequently cultivated trees species. Its natural area of distribution, however, is restricted to a small, only some thousands of hectares covering region in the Southwest of the United States of America. Since the mid-eighties pitch canker expanded from Mexico to the natural area of distribution of Pinus radiata and caused since then strong growth reductions. Within the cooperation a student from the Technische Universität München sampled trees within the natural area of distribution by taking cores. Based on these data the relationship between the degree of infestation and the growth reaction was analysed. The rating system for the degree of infestation with Fusarium circinatum (pitch canker) developed by CalPoly showed a strong correlation with the diameter increments of Pinus radiata. We examined whether Monterey pines show less growth than non-infected trees of the same age, diameter and similar local stand and whether the strength of infection affects the increment. The results show that the differences between the increments of infected and non-infected trees were significant. Monterey pines lost 48 % compared to the healthy ones since 2010. This greater influence on the growth of Monterey pines may be due to the higher susceptibility of Pinus radiata to pitch canker. An infection of less than 10 % of branches reduced the growth of younger trees more than the dominating tree.

Prof. Dr. Piirto (Cal Poly) reported about the results in the scope of his scientific lecture series about silvicultural concepts for Forests in California.

Further on, repeat recordings of the growth increment at the long term experimental plots in the natural area of distribution could be done in a common action. The analysis of this data set will be carried out by a master student from CalPoly. The primary focus of this study is the analysis of the success of regeneration of natural Pinus radiata stands depending on the type of regeneration and degree of infestation with Fusarium circinatum.

At present two manuscripts for scientific publications are in preparation.