phellinus noxius: brown root rot of hoop pine &...

Phellinus noxius: Brown root rot of

Hoop pine & Avocado

Forestry Pathology

Geoff Pegg

Fruit Pathology Team

Elizabeth Dann, Luke Smith, Ken

Pegg

© The State of Queensland, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, 2009

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries

Hoop Pine

• Araucaria cunninghamii (Ait. Ex D. Don)

• Native rainforest species.

• Produces high grade plywood, sawn wood for

export and domestic markets

• 45, 000 hectares

• 40 – 60 year rotation length



Impact

• Additional plantings - $100, 000 pa

• Productivity losses - $500, 000 pa

• Processor costs (staining) - $675, 000 pa

• Total annual economic loss approx. $1, 275, 000



Phellinus noxius disease cycle Young plants come into contact with an

infected hoop pine stump from the previous

rotation. Basidiospores can also play a role

in initiating new disease foci.

Old infected stump

material is the original

infection source – can

remain in the soil for up

to 60 years.

Thinnings also provide a

new infection source.



• Generally consists of multiple

infection foci spreading from a

central point

• Higher incidence of disease in

plantations in north

Queensland



• Tree death is initiated within 18 months of planting and continues throughout the

rotation period

• Death rapid in young trees

• Centred around an infection/focal point



Fruiting bodies are

more common in north

Queensland



Management of Phellinus noxius

• Removal of inoculum source

• Removal of all stump and root material

•Accelerated decay

• Resistance

• Not present in hoop pine

• Use of Pinus species – apparently higher levels of

resistance

• Chemical

• Efficacy testing on a range of products

• Barriers

• Not practical in a hoop pine plantation



Biological control – accelerated stump decay

• Tyromyces sp. – clearfell sites/Trametes versicolor – thinning sites

• Application must be within ½ hour of harvest

• Spore production difficult in vitro

• Gel bead production/slurry

• application and storage issues

• high cost

• Registration

– Trametes versicolor listed as a pathogen



Figure 1. Invitro testing of Propiconazole on controlling P. noxius isolates

(wp4 -81) from Mary Cairncross Reserve.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0 ppm 0.01 ppm 0.1 ppm 1 ppm 10 ppm

Chemical concentration (ppm)

Culture

dia

mete

r at

2 w

eeks (

cm

)

WP23

WP31

WP24

WP81

WP4

WP28

WP48

Propiconazole

effective at 1ppm

in preventing

growth of

Phellinus noxius

in culture.

Chemical control



• Plant defence promoter

• Potassium silicate

• Delivery systems

• Stem injection

• Trunk spray - surfactant

Chemical control



Potassium

silicate

Untreated

control

March April May June



Avocado

• Recent disease issue

– Rapid tree decline and death

• Impact

– Loss of trees of productive age

• 4-6yrs old before fruit production

– Loss of replants



Scoping Study – incidence of

Phellinus noxius

• Approximately 30 avocado orchards surveyed

– Atherton Tablelands – 17

– Childers/Bundaberg – 5

– Sunshine Coast - 1

– northern New South Wales – 2

• Severity ranged from minor (a few trees

affected) to severe (80% of trees in a block)



Control

• Removal of infected trees

– Excavation of stump and roots

• Installation of root barriers to prevent spread

– Cost effective when low disease incidence

• No current chemical control measures

registered

– Implement along with Pc control programs

• Root stock resistance



Acknowledgements

• Forest Plantations Queensland

• HAL

• Avocados Australia

phellinus noxius: brown root rot of hoop pine &...

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