Pitch canker disease of pines: current and future impacts

Pitch canker disease was first described in 1946 on Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) from Florida (Hepting and Roth 1946) and has since been discovered on many pine species in the southeastern United States(table 1, p. 23). In 1986 this disease was identified on Monterey pine (P. radiata) in California (McCain et al. 1987), where it now alsoaffects many other pines and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Ithas been reported from Mexico, Japan, and South Africa (reviewed in Storer et al. 1995). The causal agent of the disease is a fungal pathogen, Fusarium subglutinans f. sp. pini (Correll et al. 199 1) (syn. F moniliforme var. subglutinans). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]