The status of Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland

Abstract

This paper reports on the first 2 years of data collected to study the ecology of Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland. Since spring 2005, sampling has been carried out for the presence of the pathogen in soil and watercourses from 11 susceptible forest sites in Ireland, using a rapid DNA method in conjunction with morphological identification methods. Each site was sampled twice a year, collecting foliage and using rhododendron leaves as baits for water and soil samples. In June 2005, the pathogen was positively identified as the cause of Rhododendron ponticum twig and leaf blight in Killarney National Park, in the southwest of Ireland. The pathogen has since been positively identified at a new site, approximately 32.2 km (20 miles) from Killarney National Park, but has not yet been identified on trees. To date, P. ramorum is only found at three sites in the southwest and southeast of Ireland. While it is unknown whether trees will become infected, many potential susceptible hosts of the pathogen are widely distributed among these forests. Work is currently underway to study the susceptibility of Irish flora to the pathogen, as well as the sporulation potential, dispersal, infection, latency and survival of the Irish isolates. This is the first report on the molecular identification of P. ramorum in Ireland.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the sudden oak death third science symposium

Citation

O?Connor, Carmel; Gosling, Elizabeth. 2008. The status of Phytophthora ramorum in Ireland. In: Frankel, Susan J.; Kliejunas, John T.; Palmieri, Katharine M., tech. coords. 2008. Proceedings of the sudden oak death third science symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-214. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. pp. 209-213