Pathogenicity of Teratosphaeria species on Eucalyptus grandis and selected hybrids in Uganda

ABSTRACT

Teratosphaeria stem canker is one of the most important diseases to have emerged on non-native plantation-grown Eucalyptus trees cultivated globally. The study assessed the pathogenicity of two Teratosphaeria species associated with Teratosphaeria stem canker and the susceptibility of Eucalyptus grandis and six commonly grown Eucalyptus hybrids to these fungal species in Uganda. The inoculation trials indicated that Eucalyptus species and hybrids were susceptible to fungal pathogens used. A comparison of Eucalyptus species and hybrids for each fungal species showed that GC 540 and GC 796/2 are the most susceptible hybrids to T. zuluensis and T. gauchensis respectively while hybrid clone GU 8 had a higher tolerance to both fungal species. GC 540 was also tolerant to T. gauchensis while F2 and GC 550 were tolerant to T. zuluensis. Eucalyptus grandis sourced from Australia (F2) showed a higher tolerance than Eucalyptus grandis from South Africa (F1). The results further revealed that both Teratosphaeria zuluensis and Teratosphaeria gauchensis are pathogenic to Eucalyptus species and hybrids. The generated information indicates that there is an opportunity to sustainably manage Teratosphaeria stem canker disease if tolerant species are grown in areas with high disease impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Susceptibility
• stem canker
• plantation forestry
• fungi

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge financial support provided by Makerere University, Uganda and Africa Development Bank in addition to technical support from the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.