phellinus noxius: brown root rot of hoop pine &...

Phellinus noxius: Brown root rot of

Hoop pine & Avocado

Forestry Pathology

Geoff Pegg

Fruit Pathology Team

Elizabeth Dann, Luke Smith, Ken

Pegg

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Hoop Pine

• Araucaria cunninghamii (Ait. Ex D. Don)

• Native rainforest species.

• Produces high grade plywood, sawn wood for

export and domestic markets

• 45, 000 hectares

• 40 – 60 year rotation length

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Impact

• Additional plantings - $100, 000 pa

• Productivity losses - $500, 000 pa

• Processor costs (staining) - $675, 000 pa

• Total annual economic loss approx. $1, 275, 000

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Phellinus noxius disease cycle Young plants come into contact with an

infected hoop pine stump from the previous

rotation. Basidiospores can also play a role

in initiating new disease foci.

Old infected stump

material is the original

infection source – can

remain in the soil for up

to 60 years.

Thinnings also provide a

new infection source.

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

• Generally consists of multiple

infection foci spreading from a

central point

• Higher incidence of disease in

plantations in north

Queensland

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

• Tree death is initiated within 18 months of planting and continues throughout the

rotation period

• Death rapid in young trees

• Centred around an infection/focal point

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Fruiting bodies are

more common in north

Queensland

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Management of Phellinus noxius

• Removal of inoculum source

• Removal of all stump and root material

•Accelerated decay

• Resistance

• Not present in hoop pine

• Use of Pinus species – apparently higher levels of

resistance

• Chemical

• Efficacy testing on a range of products

• Barriers

• Not practical in a hoop pine plantation

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Biological control – accelerated stump decay

• Tyromyces sp. – clearfell sites/Trametes versicolor – thinning sites

• Application must be within ½ hour of harvest

• Spore production difficult in vitro

• Gel bead production/slurry

• application and storage issues

• high cost

• Registration

– Trametes versicolor listed as a pathogen

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Figure 1. Invitro testing of Propiconazole on controlling P. noxius isolates

(wp4 -81) from Mary Cairncross Reserve.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.1 ppm 1 ppm 10 ppm

Chemical concentration (ppm)

Culture

dia

mete

r at

2 w

eeks (

cm

)

WP23

WP31

WP24

WP81

WP4

WP28

WP48

Propiconazole

effective at 1ppm

in preventing

growth of

Phellinus noxius

in culture.

Chemical control

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

• Plant defence promoter

• Potassium silicate

• Delivery systems

• Stem injection

• Trunk spray - surfactant

Chemical control

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Potassium

silicate

Untreated

control

March April May June

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Avocado

• Recent disease issue

– Rapid tree decline and death

• Impact

– Loss of trees of productive age

• 4-6yrs old before fruit production

– Loss of replants

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Scoping Study – incidence of

Phellinus noxius

• Approximately 30 avocado orchards surveyed

– Atherton Tablelands – 17

– Childers/Bundaberg – 5

– Sunshine Coast - 1

– northern New South Wales – 2

• Severity ranged from minor (a few trees

affected) to severe (80% of trees in a block)

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Control

• Removal of infected trees

– Excavation of stump and roots

• Installation of root barriers to prevent spread

– Cost effective when low disease incidence

• No current chemical control measures

registered

– Implement along with Pc control programs

• Root stock resistance

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Acknowledgements

• Forest Plantations Queensland

• HAL

• Avocados Australia