Ophiostomatales Associated with Mediterranean Pine Engraver, Orthotomicus erosus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) in Dalmatia, Croatia.

ABSTRACT: Mediterranean pine engraver, Orthotomicus erosus was never considered as a significant pest in Croatia and did not appear in high population densities until 2017, when it reached outbreak level in Aleppo pine stands. The beetle was first detected in Marjan Forest Park, Split, and was soon recorded in other parts of the Dalmatian coast. Soon after the outbreak occurred, we observed that all of the attacked trees exhibit severe blue staining in the sapwood which indicated fungal infection caused by the Ophiostomatales group of fungi. This raised the need to investigate their relationship with O. erosus and the pine decline, and the main aim of this study was to isolate and identify them. Isolates were obtained from adult O. erosus beetles, their galleries, and blu

SUBMITTER: Kovac M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9410398 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature