First Report of Diplodia corticola Causing Stem Cankers and Associated Vascular Occlusion of Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) in West Virginia

Occurrence of Diplodia corticola, including new oak host records, in Wisconsin, USA

“…Earlier reports of D. corticola in North America (including identification of strains to which other names had been applied) document presence within the extreme eastern, southern and western United States (Figure a). These include Maine (Aćimović et al., ), Massachusetts (Munck et al., ), Pennsylvania (Martin & Munck, ), Washington, D.C. (Alves et al., ; Jacobs & Rehner, ), West Virginia (Martin et al., ), North Carolina (Alves et al., ), Florida (Dreaden et al., ), Texas (Úrbez‐Torres et al., ) and California (Alves et al., ; Jacobs & Rehner, ; Lynch et al., ; McPherson et al., ; Úrbez‐Torres et al., ) (Figure a). Some of these reports describe occurrence of the pathogen at only a single location and/or point in time.…”

“…However, D. corticola is much less well‐known in North America. Description of this fungus, followed by reports from multiple Quercus species in the extreme eastern, southern and western United States (Figure a) (Aćimović et al., ; Alves et al., ; Dreaden, Shin, & Smith, ; Lynch, Zambino, Scott, & Eskalen, ; Martin et al., ; McPherson, Erbilgin, Bonello, & Wood, ; Munck, Wyka, Bohne, Green, & Siegert, ; Úrbez‐Torres, Peduto, Rooney‐Latham, & Gubler, ), prompted reconsideration of strains in our collection that had been obtained in Wisconsin from native oaks. Collected in the late 1990s and early 2000s, these strains had been only tentatively identified as Diplodia species based on anamorph characteristics.…”

Choosing an Adequate Pesticide Delivery System for Managing Pathogens with Difficult Biologies: Case Studies onDiplodia corticola, Venturia inaequalisandErwinia amylovora

“…Based on the other pathogenic and opportunistic pathogen members of the family Botryosphaeriaceae, D. corticola can probably infect through wounds and maybe plant natural openings. Once infection is established it spreads within the host via xylem to large distances with xylem sections exhibiting black streaking and cankers can form intermittently on the bark of trunk or branches [5,8,28,29]. Some trees with xylem necrosis do not always exhibit visible external cankers [7].…”

“…Agricultural, urban, and natural tree stands have been the focus of extensive plant pathogen diagnostic and disease management research in recent decades [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] which recorded an increase in the number of new fungal and bacterial pathogens and their detrimental impact on agroecosystems, ecosystems, and the human society. The economic effects of these pathogens are reflected in lost fresh fruit produce [17][18][19], reduced yields and quality of fruit or wood and cork products [20,21], diminished ecological tree services, and death of whole trees, stands, and forest regions or decimation of fruit industries [19,22].…”

“…A pathogenic fungus Diplodia corticola, the causal agent of Bot canker of oak which invades tree xylem is the most widely distributed and virulent fungal pathogen causing canker and decline of cork oak (Quercus suber) forests in Europe [25,26] and of southern live oak (Q. virginiana), coast live oak (Q. agrifolia), and canyon live oak (Q. chrysolepis) in the United States [3,27]. Recently, there has been a rising incidence of this pathogen in the Unites States on northern red oak, Q. rubra [5,8], black oak, Q. velutina [7], white oak, Q. alba [28], and bur oak (Q. macrocarpa) [29]. Other Botryosphaeriaceae, like Neofusicoccum australe, N. luteum, N. parvum and N. mediterraneum infect woody and green plant tissues and are destructive canker pathogens of avocado [1], grapevine, olive, pistachio and ash [30][31][32][33] and are recently reported as very virulent pathogens of coast redwood leading to severe decline in urban stands of California [9].…”