September COMTF report - Phytophthora ramorum/Sudden Oak Death

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Phytophthora ramorum is a recently described pathogen causing bleeding cankers, dieback, and leaf blight on trees and shrubs in parts of Europe and North America, where the disease is commonly known as sudden oak death. The September issue of the California Oak Mortality Task Force Report is now available at  www.suddenoakdeath.org. 

Excerpts appear below.

Sally Williams
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California Oak Mortality Task Force Report 
SEPTEMBER 2006
Regulations
Eucalyptus haemastoma Sm. (Myrtaceae â€“ Myrtle family), Cornus kousa x Cornus capitata (Cornaceae â€“ Dogwood family), and Castanopsis orthacantha Franchet (Fagaceae â€“ Beech family) have been added to the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) list of Plants Reported as Natural Hosts of Phytophthora ramorum.  All three hosts were found P. ramorum-positive in the United Kingdom.  Symptomatic Eucalyptus haemastoma Sm. had chlorotic leaves, while Cornus kousa x Cornus capitata exhibited shoot tip die-back and Castanopsis orthacantha Franchet was found to have mid-rib necrosis and leaf symptoms.  The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is researching the findings and anticipates adding these plants to APHIS P. ramorum Associated Host Plant list soon.

Canada has added five new genera to the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) P. ramorum host list: Loropetalum, Distylium, Manglietia, Parakmeria, and Ilex.  These additions are the result of positive confirmations from the species:  Loropetalum chinese, Distylium myricoides, Manglietia insignis, Parakmeria lotungensis, and Ilex purpurea.  Ilex and Manglietia plants not only displayed leaf spots, but also some dieback.  All of the confirmations came from container plants grown in a polyhouse.  Canadaâ€™s updated P. ramorum-regulated genera list can be found on the CFIA website at: (http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/protect/dir/sodspe.shtml).  APHIS is reviewing the findings and anticipates adding the new hosts to the APHIS P. ramorum Associated Host Plant list in the near future.

USDA APHIS has updated the Confirmed Nursery Protocol (CNP), and posted it to the APHIS website at:  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/pramorum/protocols.html.  Effective September 1, 2006, any newly confirmed P. ramorum-positive nurseries must comply with the new version of the protocol.  
 ....

The National Science Foundation/National Institutes of Health (NSF/NIH) program â€œEcology of Infectious Diseasesâ€ is funding a 5-year, $2.4 million grant for â€œSudden Oak Death: Feedback Between a Generalist Pathogen, Hosts, and Heterogeneous Environments at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales.â€  Dave Rizzo, Matteo Garbelotto, and Ross Meentemeyer, in collaboration with Christopher Gilligan, are the recipients of the grant.  

The project will examine the environmental and biological circumstances that initially led to the emergence of P. ramorum and the subsequent disease-related changes to the forest environment.  A combination of field, greenhouse, and laboratory experiments, along with geographical information system and mathematical modeling approaches to research the spatial and temporal dynamics of Sudden Oak Death (SOD) will be used.  How human-induced changes in landscape structure and composition of forests when combined with weather patterns (e.g., El Nino) may have influenced the establishment and spread of pathogen in California forests will also be examined.  

Following P. ramorum invasion, changes to the pathogen, host, and forest environment may also occur.  SOD epidemics in California forests are primarily driven by the presence of associated host species that serve as sources of the pathogen, and not by the oaks themselves.  Because mortality is often restricted to oak and tanoak, the broad host range of P. ramorum will allow hypotheses of plant competition mediated by a pathogen to be tested. The broad host range of the pathogen may also allow for P. ramorum populations to evolve towards increased virulence and/or increased diversity.  However, over time we would also expect that P. ramorum invasion will influence the occurrence and spatial distribution of resistant and tolerant host genotypes.  Finally, the role of parasites in influencing ecosystem functioning (e.g., nutrient cycling) has often been overlooked.  In areas where P. ramorum-associated overstory mortality has significantly impacted composition of coastal forests, changes in forest floor inputs, organic matter, decomposition rates, and nitrogen dynamics will be analyzed.

In response to continued tanoak mortality, a project to evaluate tanoak resistance and genetic make-up is under way.  The cooperative effort is being carried out by Richard Dodd, Matteo Garbelotto, and Katy Hayden (UC Berkeley); Richard Sniezko and Jessica Wright (USDA Forest Service); Cindy Roessler (Mid-Peninsula Open Space District); and David Schirokauer and Jane Rogers (Pt. Reyes National Seashore).
 ...

Tjosvold, S.A., Chambers, D.L., Thomas, S.L., and Blomquist, C.L. 2006. First Report of Phytophthora ramorum infecting Camellia flower buds in North America. Online at:  http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/php/elements/sum.asp?id=5447&photo=3089. Plant Health Progress doi:10.1094/PHP-2006-0825-01-BR.

Public Summary:  Camellias are important nursery and landscape plants and are known to be highly susceptible hosts of Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death.  This is the first report of camellia flower bud infection in the field with the North American genotype of P. ramorum.

Venette, R.C. and Cohen, S.D. 2006. Potential climatic suitability for establishment of Phytophthora ramorum within the contiguous United States. Forest Ecology and Management 231:18â€“26.

Abstract:  Phytophthora ramorum has caused extensive mortality to tanoak and several oak species in coastal California.  This pathogen has infected at least 72 plant species under natural conditions and 32 additional species in the laboratory.  Many infected hosts have been distributed across the United States by the horticultural industry.  ....
.......
Nurseries
CA had one P. ramorum-positive nursery identified in August.  The San Joaquin County producer was found to have five positive Camellia varieties ('Jean May,' 'Bonanza,' 'Showa-no-sakae,' 'Chansonette' and 'Nuccio's Pearl') during a compliance agreement inspection.  Also found P. ramorum-positive in 2004, the nursery does not ship interstate, their compliance agreement has been suspended, and they are undergoing the Confirmed Nursery Protocol.  
........

The Government Accountability Office posted a June 21, 2006 invasive species report â€œInvasive Forest Pests: Recent Infestations and Continued Vulnerabilities at Ports of Entry Place U.S. Forests at Riskâ€ (GAO-06-871T) to their website. The entire report may be viewed at:  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06871t.pdf. 
Abstract:  Invasive forest pests have seriously harmed our environment and imposed significant costs on our economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the lead agency for responding to forest pests and coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prevent pests from entering the country. GAO issued two reports in 2006 on these programs. This testimony describes (1) the status of USDA's efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and Phytophthora ramorum; (2) the factors affecting the success of those eradication efforts; and (3) areas of continued vulnerability in regard to preventing the arrival and spread of forest pests.
On the basis of the available evidence, it appears that the Asian longhorned beetle will be eradicated in the three states that have infestations, although funding reductions have extended the likely completion date. In contrast, the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum--the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death--are likely to continue to infest and damage forest ecosystems in the Midwest and on the West Coast, despite efforts to control them. ...

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has updated Canada's Plant Health Risk Assessment â€œPhytophthora ramorum: causal agent of sudden oak death, ramorum blight, ramorum bleeding canker, ramorum (shoot) dieback.â€  The document rates the overall risk of P. ramorum as â€˜highâ€™ for British Columbia and â€˜mediumâ€™ for Southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces.  The 126-page document is not posted to the Internet, but is available upon request through the CFIA, Plant Health Division, Horticulture Section; Floor 3, Room 3103; 59 Camelot Drive; Ottawa, Ontario; K1A 0Y9 (Tel.: 613/221-4342 Fax: 613/228-6603).  For more information, contact Janice Morlidge, Administrative Assistant at morlidgej@inspection.gc.ca.
........ 
Calendar of Events
10/9 â€“ 12 â€“ 6th California Oak Symposium, titled â€œCaliforniaâ€™s oaks:  Todayâ€™s challenges, tomorrowâ€™s opportunities;â€ The conference features a field trip and two indoor sessions on Sudden Oak Death, and is intended for academics, planners, conservation practitioners, foresters, arborists, land owners, and oak enthusiasts.  For more information, visit the Symposium website at:  http://danr.ucop.edu/ihrmp/symposium.html.

10/19 â€“ Christmas Tree Research Field Tour; Gary Chastagner and staff will provide growers an opportunity to examine trees with different SOD symptoms, discuss the results of their research and discuss potential ways to manage P. ramorum on Christmas trees; 1:00 p.m.; Black Road Christmas Tree Farm; 19749 Black Rd; Los Gatos, CA 95033; For more information, go to the CA Oak Mortality (COMTF) website at:  www.suddenoakdeath.org or contact Janice Alexander at:  jalexander@ucdavis.edu.

10/30 â€“ Free all day Nursery Training Session; Riverside County Department of Agriculture; Begins at 9:00 a.m.; More information will be forthcoming on the COMTF website at:  www.suddenoakdeath.org as well as in the October newsletter.

10/31 â€“ Free all day Nursery Training Session; Los Angeles County Department of Agriculture; Begins at 10:00 a.m.;  More information will be forthcoming on the COMTF website at:  www.suddenoakdeath.org as well as in the October newsletter.

11/1 - Call for Papers deadline for the Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium III in Santa Rosa, CA (March 2007); for more information, go to the Symposium website at: http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf/sodsymposium/. 

11/14 â€“ 15 â€“ 2006 Annual Meeting of the CA Forest Pest Council; Heidrick Agricultural History Center; 1962 Hays Lane; Woodland, CA; An update on SOD and efforts to control Phytophthora lateralis, P. ramorum, and a P. cinnamomi on a rare Manzanita will be presented; For more information, contact Mike Bohne, USDA-FS, at:  mbohne@fs.fed.us.

3/5 -3/9/2007 - Sudden Oak Death Science Symposium III; Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel and Spa; 170 Railroad Street; Santa Rosa, CA  95401; Additional information will be forthcoming.  For questions, contact Katie Palmieri, CA Oak Mortality Task Force Public Information Officer, at:  palmieri@nature.berkeley.edu or (510) 847-5482.

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