The Epidemiology of Sudden Oak Death Disease Caused by Phytophthora ramorum in a Mixed Bay Laurel-Oak Woodland Provides Important Clues for Disease Management

Bibliographic Details
Title: The Epidemiology of Sudden Oak Death Disease Caused by Phytophthora ramorum in a Mixed Bay Laurel-Oak Woodland Provides Important Clues for Disease Management
Authors: Melina Kozanitas, Margaret R. Metz, Todd W. Osmundson, Maria Socorro Serrano, Matteo Garbelotto
Source: Pathogens, Vol 11, Iss 2, p 250 (2022)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: LCC:Medicine
Subject Terms: biological invasions, disease ecology, Quercus agrifolia, refugial host, superspreader, Umbellularia californica, Medicine
More Details: Epidemiological models are important for the understanding of disease progression in plants and for the design of control strategies. Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen responsible for the disease known as Sudden Oak Death, causes lethal infection on several oaks but relies on California bay laurels for transmission. Here, repeated surveys of bay laurels and oaks indicated that bay laurel disease incidence was positively correlated with rainfall, bay laurel density, and an eastern aspect, and negatively correlated with bay laurel basal area. Oak infection only occurred in years when rainfall was higher than the 30-year average, and although infection rates were greater among larger trees, mortality was greater among smaller trees. Additionally, larger oaks closer to infected bay laurels exhibited greater infection rates. Disease incidence differed among sites, and only a fraction of bay laurels were disease superspreaders, while even fewer individuals were refugial trees harboring active infections during dry periods. Based on this study, reducing bay laurel density in denser stands and the number of superspreaders or refugial trees in less dense stands may reduce disease incidence. However, the selective removal of bay laurel trees 0–10 m from oaks is likely to be more effective in preventing infection of specific oaks.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2076-0817
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/2/250; https://doaj.org/toc/2076-0817
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11020250
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/9e740e29684a427391d876a6e871ab2f
Accession Number: edsdoj.9e740e29684a427391d876a6e871ab2f
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20760817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens11020250
Published in:Pathogens
Language:English