Inoculation of stumps with Hypholoma fasciculare as a possible means to control armillaria root disease

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Chapman ◽  
G Xiao

Hypholoma fasciculare (Huds. ex Fr.) Kummer was paired with Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink in a variety of ways in the laboratory and then it was inoculated onto A. ostoyae infected stumps in the field. The ability of H. fasciuclare colonies to overrun A. ostoyae colonies in culture was confirmed. Hypholoma fasciculare fully colonized discs of tree roots where A. ostoyae was well established, and prevented A. ostoyae from occupying root segments when both fungi were introduced simultaneously. A simple method for inoculating H. fasciculare into stumps is described, and data supporting successful field inoculations are presented. The ability of H. fasciculare to invade freshly killed stumps, even those occupied by Armillaria, is demonstrated, and it is speculated that the ability of this saprophyte to invade fresh stumps is dependent upon its inoculum potential.Key words: biocontrol, woody debris, fungal warfare, Armillaria ostoyae.

Plant Disease ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Onsando ◽  
P. M. Wargo ◽  
S. W. Waudo

Surveys for Armillaria root disease severity were conducted over a 5-year period in small tea farms (0.5 to 1.0 ha) in the 12 tea-growing districts of Kenya. The disease occurred in all tea districts, but severity was greater in the districts east of the Rift Valley. Disease severity was associated with relative amounts of residual woody debris, especially roots, from trees and shrubs present when the land was converted to tea plantations. Excavation of tea bushes in disease centers showed that infection of tea bushes occurred primarily by mycelial growth from residual tree roots and from infected tea roots rather than from rhizomorphs. Rhizomorphs were scarce, and rarely involved in infection. They were confined mostly to the surface of the residual tree roots and were found growing freely in the soil in only one tea district. Rhizomorphs were more abundant in higher elevation plantations than in lower elevation plantations, where they occurred only on residual tree roots in the deeper, cooler, moister levels of the soil. Inoculum from residual tree debris in the soil was the most important source of infection in plantations of seed origin. Secondary spread from infected tea plants to healthy ones was limited and disease centers were small. In tea plantations derived from clonal cuttings, secondary disease spread from infected to healthy tea plants was more important resulting in large disease centers or gaps due to plant death and removal. Currently, soil sanitation by thorough removal of roots of forest trees and prompt removal of infected tea bushes is the best available management practice.


1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann N. Bruhn ◽  
Jeanne D. Mihail ◽  
Timothy R. Meyer

Abstract Armillaria ostoyae causes a destructive root disease in northern conifers. Most infections result from root invasions by rhizomorphs growing through the soil from previously colonized stump and woody root debris. Armillaria longevity in woody debris is related to the colonized volume. Stump and root removal by root raking alone often does not satisfactorily reduce subsequent root disease mortality. This investigation characterized residual woody debris volumes in three conifer seed orchards in northern Ontario. Site preparation for stump and root removal in two of the orchards consisted of root raking alone, vs. Madge Rotoclear™ treatment ("rotoclearing") in the third orchard. Fallow periods between site preparation and planting were 1, 5, and 8 yr in the three orchards, respectively. Mortality related to colonized residual woody debris is continuing in the raked orchards, but appears to have ended in the rotocleared orchard. Root systems of 32 orchard trees recently killed by Armillaria root disease and 9 apparently healthy (otherwise comparable) trees were excavated. Regardless of site preparation method, Armillaria-killed trees were associated with greater total volumes of residual woody debris (comprising larger pieces on average) than were healthy trees. Also, healthy trees in the rotocleared orchard were associated with smaller debris pieces on average than were healthy trees in the root-raked orchard. Size of individual woody debris pieces which contained viable A. ostoyae was highly variable. Even small pieces of colonized debris close to a root crown were apparently capable of causing lethal infection. Nevertheless, compared to root raking, rotoclearing apparently breaks A. ostoyae-colonized woody debris into smaller pieces resulting in more rapid displacement of A. ostoyae. We conclude that rotoclearing followed by a fallow period of 8 yr before planting merits consideration as an inoculum reduction treatment for site preparation. A 10 yr fallow period might have prevented nearly all root disease mortality under the conditions of this study. North. J. Appl. For. 15(4):191-196.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Morrison ◽  
K W Pellow ◽  
A FL Nemec ◽  
D J Norris ◽  
P Semenoff

In selectively cut and undisturbed parts of four mature stands, five 0.04-ha plots were established, and trees were measured, mapped, and examined for aboveground symptoms of armillaria root disease. Trees were felled, and stumps and their root systems were removed by an excavator and were measured and examined for Armillaria lesions. Isolates from root lesions, rhizomorphs associated with lesions, and basidiomes collected in or adjacent to plots were of Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink. All trees were assigned to one of five tree condition classes based on the location of lesions and host response. The merchantable volume in each class was calculated. In undisturbed plots, incidence of trees with A. ostoyae lesions on roots was about 10% in the dry climatic region compared with about 75% in the moist region and 35% in the wet region. In plots in the selectively cut parts of the stands, 50-100% of stumps were colonized by A. ostoyae. Results of a logistic regression analysis showed that selective cutting was associated with a statistically significant increase in the probability of a tree having A. ostoyae lesions, where the magnitude of the increase depended on tree diameter. The increase in the probability of a tree being diseased was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of primary roots with lesions and the average number of lesions per diseased tree; however, the increases in disease intensity were statistically significant at only two (one dry and one moist) of the four sites. The percentage of merchantable volume threatened or killed by A. ostoyae was usually higher in cutover than undisturbed plots.


2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (7) ◽  
pp. 962-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Chapman ◽  
Guoping Xiao ◽  
Sheldan Myers

Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink. causes serious damage to forest tree species worldwide. In this study, Hypholoma fasciculare (Huds. ex Fr.) Kummer was inoculated, after logging, into areas in south-central British Columbia that had been identified as having high levels of A. ostoyae. Hypholoma fasciculare was successfully established in a variety of different types of trials, as indicated by growth of H. fasciculare mycelium into roots of inoculated stumps and the presence of fruiting bodies on and around stumps. Three to five years after treatment, inoculated plots had biologically and statistically significantly lower levels of mortality attributable to A. ostoyae.Key words: Hypholoma fasciculare, Armillaria, biocontrol, woody debris.


2000 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter V. Blenis

To evaluate the threat of armillaria root disease in precommercially thinned lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), a total of 66 15 × 15-m plots were established in dense lodgepole pine regeneration, 18 to 21 years after harvest, on three infested sites near Hinton, Alberta. Three treatments (2.5-m spacing, 1.5-m spacing and an unspaced control) were randomly applied to plots having similar densities and levels of mortality. After 11 years there was no significant difference among the treatments in cumulative percent mortality. Based on observed levels of mortality, it would appear that spacing need not be avoided in infested stands, although it likely would be prudent to space more closely than 2.5 m in younger stands and in parts of stands having more than 5–10% mortality. Key words: precommercial thinning, spacing, armillaria root disease, Armillaria ostoyae


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles G. Shaw ◽  
D.W. Omdal ◽  
A. Ramsey-Kroll ◽  
L.F. Roth

Abstract A stand of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) severely affected by Armillaria root disease was treated with five different levels of sanitation by root removal to reduce root disease losses in the regenerating stand. Treatments included the following: (1) all trees pushed over by machine, maximum removal of roots by machine ripping, and visible remaining roots removed by hand; (2) all trees pushed over by machine and maximum removal of roots by machine ripping; (3) all trees pushed over by machine with no further removal of roots; (4) smaller trees pushed over by machine but large stumps left, otherwise maximum removal of roots by machine ripping; and (5) all trees felled and removed by skidding, area cleared of slash, sod scalped, and no removal of roots. After 35 years, we found that the more intense and thorough root-removal treatments were generally more effective in reducing the occurrence of Armillaria root disease. However, even the most intensive treatment (treatment 1), which experienced significantly less disease than most other treatments, had 23% of the area expressing mortality. The only operationally feasible treatment (treatment 3) also reduced levels of mortality, but not significantly (40% mortality versus 52% in the control, treatment 5). Although these results support the concept that inoculum removal can reduce root disease levels, the treatment necessary to provide a meaningful reduction in disease loss does not seem to warrant its cost.


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