Australasian Plant Pathology (2003) 32, 361-366

I. Barnes, J. Roux, B.D. Wingfield, M. O'Neill and M.J Wingfield (2003)
Ceratocystis fimbriata infecting Eucalyptus grandis in Uruguay
Australasian Plant Pathology 32 (3), 361-366
Abstract: Uruguay has a rapidly growing forestry industry consisting mainly of exotic Pinus and Eucalyptus spp. Recently, there have been reports of individual E. grandis trees wilting and dying rapidly in plantations. The aim of this investigation was to survey the dying E. grandis in the Rivera area of Uruguay and to determine the cause of the Eucalyptus wilt. Sap-staining symptoms were observed on recently pruned E. grandis. Discs of discoloured wood were cut from these pruned trees and from the stems of dying trees. These disks were stored in a moist environment to induce fungal sporulation. Ascomata, typical of a Ceratocystis sp., were found covering the edges of the wood where streaking symptoms occurred. Morphologically, the fungus resembles C. fimbriata. The internal transcribed spacer regions of the ribosomal RNA operon of the Ceratocystis sp. were amplified and sequenced. Sequence data confirmed placement of this fungus amongst other isolates of C. fimbriata. Furthermore, the sequence data showed that the Uruguay isolates are most closely related to those from diseased Eucalyptus spp. in Brazil, Congo and Uganda. C. fimbriata is a well-known pathogen of many woody plants and could constitute a serious threat to intensively managed E. grandis in Uruguay where the fungus was not previously known. The relationship between the pruning of E. grandis and infection by C. fimbriata will, in future, need to be evaluated.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Irene Barnes, Brenda D. Wingfield, Michael J. Wingfield, Jolanda Roux

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ceratocystis fimbriata	Eucalypt (Eucalyptus)	Uruguay