Modeling elm growth and Dutch elm disease susceptibility

Abstract

Elm susceptibility to Dutch elm disease (DED) displays strong seasonal variation. The period during which elms can become infected and express DED symptoms is generally restricted to several weeks after growth resumption in spring, although it can vary among species, provenances, and environmental conditions. The reason for this phenomenon is not understood, but the few studies correlating DED susceptibility with the host’s rhythm of seasonal morphogenesis suggest that the seasonal variation in disease development depends on the pattern of growth. Susceptibility to DED is correlated to the date of bud burst in the European field elm, suggesting that a differentiation in spring phenology might cause an asynchrony between the period of susceptibility of the host and the phase of disease transmission by the insect vector allowing the tree to escape the disease.

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

Santini, Alberto; Ghelardini, Luisa. 2012. Modeling elm growth and Dutch elm disease susceptibility. In: Sniezko, Richard A.; Yanchuk, Alvin D.; Kliejunas, John T.; Palmieri, Katharine M.; Alexander, Janice M.; Frankel, Susan J., tech. coords. 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. p. 155.