Scleroderris canker on lodgepole pine introduced in northern Sweden

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Abstract
From 1987–1991, conditions in 110 conventional plantings of introduced lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl. ex Loud.) were investigated in northern Sweden. Severe damage by Scleroderris canker, caused by the fungus Gremmeniellaabietina (Lagerb.) Morelet, was recorded at high elevations in 1987. Damage was related to a period with extreme weather conditions. The disease was initially severe in low lying areas, from where it quickly spread throughout the plantations during 1988. Temperatures above average during 1988–1990 favoured tree vigour, which in turn slowed the spread of the disease. The frequency of stem cankers increased in seriously infected areas during 1989, and new severe damage was recorded locally in 1990 and in 1992. A strong correlation was found between disease severity and the temperature sum at the site. Lodgepole pine planted on spruce sites was often severely affected. A negative correlation was found between the frequency of G. abietina and the abundance of birch thicket. In large areas in northern Sweden with a more favourable climate, lodgepole pine plantations were healthy and productive up to 1991. However, instability, leading to increased susceptibility to disease, has become a problem of great concern in some of these areas during the 1990s.

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