Please see PaDIL (Pests and Diseases Image Library) Species Content Page Fungi: Chestnut blight for high quality diagnostic and overview images.
\"The bark miner Spulerina simploniella (Lepidoptera: Gracilariidae) was found in coppice chestnut (Castanea sativa) forests in Greece but was not found in chestnut orchards. Its larvae mine under the thin periderm of young trees, 4–10 years old, while the stem bark is still smooth. Under normal conditions it does not cause any damage to the trees. However, when chestnut blight caused by Cryphonectria parasitica is present in the area, the insect may be an agent of disease spread. Experiments revealed that spraying of 23 pupation sites with a C. parasitica conidiospore suspension caused canker formation at a rate of 100% in the coppice chestnut forests of Mount Athos, North Greece. It is believed that rain during the pupation period (approximately May 23 to June 15) may deposit conidiospores on the freshly exposed phloem and cause cankers. This bark miner has been detected in several parts of Greece, however, always in intensively managed chestnut coppice forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] (Diamandis and Perlerou, 2005).
Guerin et al. (2001) state that, \"Under American conditions, numerous perithecia (the sexual fruiting bodies of C. parasitica), maturing in stromata, were visible on the infected bark surface. Ascospores were discharged from these perithecia during periods of warm rain events in spring, summer and autumn. Discharged ascospores were further dispersed in air by wind and may be the source of primary inoculum each season. C. parasitica has a mixed mating system and both outcrossing and self-fertilization can occur within a population. Perithecia of C. parasitica occur but are not very frequent in most areas of Europe. More recently, in a survey of C. parasitica populations in Italy, the sexual stage was found in nine out of 10 populations, indicating the potential for sexual reproduction (Milgroom and Cortesi, 1999).\"
Principal source: Liu, Y. C., M. L Double, W. L. MacDonald, and M. G. Milgroom. 2002. Persistence of Cryphonectria hypoviruses after their release for biological control of chestnut blight in West Virginia forests. Forest Pathology 32: 345-356
Compiler: National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) & IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
Review: Cécile Robin, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Bordaeux, France.
Publication date: 2006-03-31
Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Cryphonectria parasitica. Downloaded from http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=124 on 07-10-2024.
In Italy, Dallavalle and Zambonelli (1999) state that, \"There is a very high occurrence of chestnut blight on oak in the mixed woods of southern-central Italy where the pathogen still causes severe damage on chestnut ( Luisi et al., 1994). Although the occurrence of the disease on hosts other than chestnut does not involve damage to these trees it could play an important role in the epidemiology of the fungus.\"
For details on biological control options, please see management information.