New data on the spread of the invasive species Dothistroma septosporum (Dorogin) M. Morelet in Belarus

Abstract

Red band needle blight, or Dothistroma needle blight is one of the most common and harmful diseases of pine. The causative agents of the disease are pathogenic micromycetes Dothistroma septosporum (Dorogin) M. Morelet and Dothistroma pini Hulbary. Dothistroma needle blight was firstly detected in Belarus in 2012 year, but till now information about this disease in the republic is fragmentary. The article presents the results of a survey of different pine trees, carried out in the period 2016–2020 years in botanical and dendrological gardens, forest nurseries and mini-arboretums at forestry enterprises, urban stands, nurseries of decorative plants, garden centers, for the presence of Dothistroma needle blight. The species identification of the causative agent of the disease was carried out by mycological and molecular genetic methods. In this study, Dothistroma needle blight was revealed on individual trees of Pinus mugo, P. nigra and P. ponderosa in the stands of the Central Botanical Garden of the NAS of Belarus, the dendrological garden of the Glubokoe experimental forestry enterprise, in the nurseries of decorative plants in the Grodno and Minsk regions. In the collected samples of needles, the invasive species Dothistroma septosporum was identified. The frequency of occurrence of the pathogen was 4.8–7.2 %, the proportion of observation sites in which this disease was detected at 60 %. The detection of Dothistroma needle blight on pine trees, mainly on planting material imported from abroad, indicates a transboundary route of D. septosporum entering the country. Analysis of literature data indicates the potential danger of Dothistroma needle blight for pine stands in the republic, which in turn requires the organization of regular monitoring of the disease and the development of methods to limit the spread of D. septosporum in the republic.