| Beech bark disease | |
|---|---|
 Perithecia (Fruiting bodies) | |
| Causal agents | Neonectria faginata and Neonectria ditissima |
| Hosts | beech trees |
| Vectors | Cryptococcus fagisuga |
| EPPO Code | NNECSP |
| Distribution | Eastern United States and Europe |
Beech bark disease is a disease that causes mortality and defects in beech trees in the eastern United States, Canada and Europe.[1][2][3] In North America, the disease occurs after extensive bark invasion by Xylococculus betulae and the beech scale insect, Cryptococcus fagisuga.[4] Through a presently unknown mechanism, excessive feeding by this insect causes two different fungi (Neonectria faginata (previously Nectria coccinea var. faginata) and Neonectria ditissima (previously Nectria galligena)) to produce annual cankers on the bark of the tree. The continuous formation of lesions around the tree eventually girdles it, resulting in canopy death. In Europe, N. coccinea is the primary fungus causing the infection.[3] Infection in European trees occurs in the same manner as it does in North American trees. Though the disease still appears in Europe, it is less serious today than it once was.[2]
- ^ Houston, David R.; James T. O'Brien (1983). "Beech Bark Disease". Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet 75 (1998), 1–7. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2024-06-19.
- ^ a b Tainter, Frank H., and Fred A. Baker . Principles of Forest Pathology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996.
- ^ a b Sinclair, Wayne A., and Howard H. Lyon. Diseases of Trees and Shrubs. 2nd ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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