Background: Red needle cast, a new foliage disease of Pinus radiata in New Zealand is described. The disease has been variable in incidence and severity both regionally and in different years. The early symptoms of discrete olive coloured lesions, often with a narrow dark resinous mark or band, were first recognised in winter of 2008 in plantation

This chapter focuses on the epidemiology and management of Dothistroma needle blight (DNB), which is one of the most important foliar diseases of pines (Pinus spp.) worldwide, caused by D. septosporum and D. pini (Mycosphaerella pini). Information is given on the pathogen distribution, host range, detection and infection biology, as well as management strategies and tactics, which include avoidance, exclusion, eradication, protection (using fungicides and biological control agents), genetic resistance, and integrated method of control.

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Background: Descriptions of five species of fungi recorded on trees and shrubs are given in this paper. Three species are recorded from New Zealand for the first time, a new combination is proposed for one species and the fifth species has been recorded only once before. The fungi are:

The pine needle blight pathogen Dothistroma septosporum produces a polyketide toxin, dothistromin. This paper reports that loss of the ability to produce dothistromin did not affect the pathogenicity of D. septosporum to Pinus radiata in a laboratory-based pathogenicity test. However, dothistromin synthesis provided an advantage to the D. septosporum wild-type, compared to dothistromin-deficient mutants, in growth competition with other fungi in vitro . Other pine-needle inhabitants, such as the latent pathogen Cyclaneusma minus and the endophyte Lophodermium conigenum , were inhibited by dothistromin-producing D. septosporum . Therefore, it was concluded that dothistromin is not a pathogenicity factor, but that it may play a role in competition of D. septosporum with other fungi in its ecological niche.