Abstract
Pine pitch canker is one of the much concerning forest diseases in Europe, affecting both adult and young plant hosts. Substrates used in nurseries, especially the ones incorporating Fusarium circinatum host plant residues, such as pine bark, may represent a vehicle for the spread of the fungus. The present study tested the efficacy of solarization on the elimination of F. circinatum inoculum from an artificially inoculated substrate, after three and seven weeks of treatment application, compared with a non- solarized control treatment. The results show a reduction of the viable inoculum density of F. circinatum from the substrate after seven weeks, which suggests that substrate solarization may be a process to minimize biotic risks in a nursery.