Publication Date:
1991-07-01
Description:
In the late winter of 1988, pairs of slash pine (Pinuselliottii Engelm.) trees were chosen and marked on the Harrison Experimental Forest in Gulfport, Mississippi. One tree of each pair had a blight and the associated fungi Lophodermellacerina Darker on all mature needles, while the other tree had healthy needles. The blight recurred on the same study trees in 1989 and 1990. Analysis of tree cores shows that the blighted member of each pair has had less radial growth than the clean (nonblighted) pair member since about 1971, when a severe needle blight occurred throughout the slash pine region. It appears that the needle blight is causing growth loss and possibly a genetic narrowing of the slash pine resource. The evidence suggests that the most severe occurrence of the blight is near metropolitan areas of the Gulf Coast.
Print ISSN:
0045-5067
Electronic ISSN:
1208-6037
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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