Archive | 2019
Geosmithia species in Florida: common fungal symbionts of wood-boring bark beetles
Abstract
Geosmithia\xa0are fungi associated with wood-boring bark beetles. Most\xa0Geosmithia\xa0species do no harm to host trees, but the canker-causing\xa0Geosmithia morbida\xa0and its beetle vector, the walnut twig beetle, cause the disease complex known as thousand cankers disease on walnut trees. Continuous surveys in Florida have found neither\xa0Geosmithia morbida\xa0nor its beetle vector in the state, but many native\xa0Geosmithia\xa0species have been recovered. These native species look similar to the pathogenic fungus but are harmless to their plant hosts. This 4-page fact sheet written by Yin-Tse Huang and Jiri Hulcr and published by the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation provides basic guidelines to sample\xa0Geosmithia\xa0species in the field and information for distinguishing the plant pathogenic\xa0Geosmithia morbida\xa0from other\xa0Geosmithia\xa0species. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr412