White pine blister rust resistance research in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Abstract

The exotic fungus Cronartium ribicola causes the disease white pine blister rust on five-needled pines throughout North America. Although the effects of this disease are perhaps better known on pines in the western portion of the continent, the disease has also impacted regeneration and growth of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L. ), especially in the upper Great Lakes region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario. This paper summarizes some of the early white pine blister rust research in Minnesota and Wisconsin, particularly the Moose Fence site near Tofte, Minnesota, the consistently high resistance level of genotype P327, and how the Minnesota Tree Improvement Cooperative (MTIC) housed at the University of Minnesota and the USDA Forest Service Oconto River Seed Orchard (ORSO) are working together to advance the state of blister rust resistance in eastern white pine.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the fourth international workshop on the genetics of host-parasite interactions in forestry: Disease and insect resistance in forest trees

Citation

David, Andrew; Berrang, Paul; Pike, Carrie. 2012. White pine blister rust resistance research in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In: Sniezko, Richard A.; Yanchuk, Alvin D.; Kliejunas, John T.; Palmieri, Katharine M.; Alexander, Janice M.; Frankel, Susan J., tech. coords. 2012. Proceedings of the fourth international workshop on the genetics of host-parasite interactions in forestry: Disease and insect resistance in forest trees. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-240. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp. 46-53.