Henna Vartiamäki , Jarkko Hantula, Antti Uotila

Susceptibility of silver birch pruning wounds to infection by white-rot fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum), a potential bioherbicide

Vartiamäki H., Hantula J., Uotila A. (2009). Susceptibility of silver birch pruning wounds to infection by white-rot fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum), a potential bioherbicide. Silva Fennica vol. 43 no. 4 article id 179. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.179

Abstract

We artificially inoculated pruning wounds of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) to study seasonal variation in their vulnerability to infection by the fungal decomposer Chondrostereum purpureum (Pers. ex Fr.) Pouzar. This information is critical to the assessment of incidental infection risks in areas where C. purpureum may be used as a bioherbicide. On seven monthly occasions between April and October 2005, 30 birch trees were pruned to yield a total of 210 experimental trees. On each occasion, 10 trees were inoculated immediately with C. purpureum mycelium, 10 were inoculated with blank inoculum and 10 were only pruned. In the summer of 2007, a survey of 129 experimental trees showed that pruning wounds were most susceptible to infection during May. Treatment with C. purpureum at other times during the growing season also increased the extent of discoloration or decay but the effect was considerably less.

Keywords
birch; vegetation management; biological control; fungal decay; pruning

Received 28 January 2009 Accepted 10 June 2009 Published 31 December 2009

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