SREL Reprint #3444

Cristulariella moricola associated with foliar blight of Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii), a bioenergy crop

Doug P. Aubrey1,2, Stephen W. Fraedrich3, Thomas C. Harrington4, and Rabiu Olatinwo5

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC 29802, USA
2Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
3USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens, GA 30602, USA
4Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA
5USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Pineville, LA 71360, USA

Abstract: We report the association of Cristulariella moricola (Hino) Redhead with a zonate leaf spot on Eucalyptus benthamii (Myrtaceae). We observed the disease outbreak across a series of experimental E. benthamii plantings in Barnwell County, South Carolina, USA in October 2015. The disease caused nearly complete foliar necrosis of most trees in one experimental planting, but disease incidence remained at low levels (<10% of foliage affected in most trees) in other plantings. Disease development coincided with periods of extended rainfall, which has also been observed in outbreaks of zonate leaf spot caused by C. moricola in other tree species.

Keywords: Bioenergy, Defoliation, Eucalypt, Foliar disease, Host plant, Pathology

SREL Reprint #3444

Aubrey, D. P., S. W. Fraedrich, T. C. Harrington, and R. Olatinwo. 2017. Cristulariella moricola associated with foliar blight of Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii), a bioenergy crop. Biomass and Bioenergy 105(2017): 464-469.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).