Kathy Riley

Delphinella shoot blight and Grovesiella canker on Abies lasiocarpa in western USA

ABSTRACT The impact of Delphinella shoot blight (Delphinella abietis) and Grovesiella canker (Grovesiella abieticola) on subalpine (Abies lasiocarpa) and corkbark fir (A. lasiocarpa var. arizonica) in a provenance trial in Idaho (ID) was evaluated in 2013. Both pathogens were previously reported from North America on fir species. D. abietis had been found on subalpine fir in USA, but not in ID, and G. abieticola on grand fir (Abies grandis) in ID, but not on subalpine or corkbark fir. D. abietis kills current-year needles and in severe cases buds and shoots, and G. abieticola results in dead shoots and branches and can eventually kill whole trees. Significant differences between provenances in susceptibility to D. abietis and G. abieticola were observed in the provenance trial in ID. In general, subalpine fir was more susceptible to both diseases than corkbark fir. In 2013, D. abietis was also found on subalpine fir in the Puget Sound area of Washington State and G. abieticola was seen on white fir (Abies concolor), but neither disease was detected in native stands of subalpine fir in Washington State. Morphological features of both fungi were described from samples collected in the provenance trial in ID in May 2016.