Pine pitch canker (PPC) is a serious disease of Pinus spp. and Pseudotsuga menziesii globally. The infection of its causal agent, Fusarium circinatum, causes pitch or resinsoaked cankers on trunks and lateral branches of mature hosts, which may eventually die due to girdling or stem breakage. In nurseries, the main symptoms are damping-off and tip dieback of seedlings. However, the pathogen, with a hemibiotrophic nature, can remain endophytic in pine seedlings that do not show symptoms of infection and even inconspicuous in some herbaceous species. Since the first report in 1945 in North America, the presence of F. circinatum has been notified in 14 countries in America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Several factors have contributed to the spread of the disease to all these continents, the most important being globalization in terms of trade in reproductive plant material. Wind, raindrops and forest insects associated with pines contribute to the local dispersion of the pathogen. Despite its importance, no effective measures are available to eradicate or control PPC disease either in nurseries or in the field. The main objective of this doctoral thesis was to shed light on effective regulatory mechanisms for the control of PPC disease. For this purpose, firstly, a review focused on collecting current information on pathways of pathogen spread and proposing preventive mechanisms to avoid its introduction into disease-free areas was elaborated. The multiple pathways of spread make F. circinatum challenging to prevent, exacerbated by the recent discovery of its endophytic colonization of non-reported host species that illustrates the importance of the biological and ecological knowledge for the design of effective intervention strategies. In addition, eradication of the disease may be feasible only if its entry is detected at a very early stage. In this regard, new methods for detection and diagnosis for the prompt detection of F. circinatum in seeds, plants, and vector insects are urgently needed. For that, it is essential the collaboration between phytosanitary authorities and researchers through interdisciplinary networks that allows increasing knowledge of the disease and raising awareness of the risks and mitigation measures among crucial target groups. The review also identified weak points in current regulations and provided suggestions for implementation.This thesis is based on the following scientific articles, which will be referred to by their Roman numerals (I-IV) in the text.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.