First reports of Lecanosticta acicola in Belarus and Poland
The presence of Lecanosticta acicola (EPPO A2 List) has recently been reported for the first time from Belarus and Poland.
- Belarus
During surveys conducted in Belarus from 2016 to 2019, L. acicola has been identified on three pine species in the botanical garden of Vitebsk (Northern part of the country near Russia). It is considered that this fungus could represent a serious threat to pine forests in Belarus.
The situation of Lecanosticta acicola in Belarus can be described as follows: Present, only in some areas (botanical garden of Vitebsk).
- Poland
During summer 2017, samples of 2-year-old needles showing characteristic symptoms of brown spot needle blight were collected from the lower branches of 20 Pinus mugo trees. These trees were growing in a forest stand near Ustka, in the Baltic Sea coastal area of Poland. The identity of the fungus was confirmed by using morphological and molecular (real-time PCR and sequencing) methods. In the infected area, it was observed that the disease seemed to spread from the coast into the forest infecting both young (<30 years old) and old (>60 years old) P. mugo trees.
The situation of Lecanosticta acicola in Poland can be described as follows: Present, only in some areas (first found in 2017 on Pinus mugo, near Ustka).
Sources
Golovchenko LA, Dishuk NG, Panteleev SV, Baranov YU (2020) [A new invasive species, Mycosphaerella dearnessii, in Belarus]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Biological series 65(1), 98-105 (abst.) (in Russian).
Raitelaitytė K, Markovskaja S, Paulauskas A, Hsiang T, Oszako T (2020) First molecular detection of Lecanosticta acicola from Poland on Pinus mugo. Forest Pathology, e12589. https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.12589