Effect of Simulated Acid Rain on Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Infection of Pine Seedlings

Abstract

White, Scots, and Austrian 3-year-old pine seedlings were treated with conditions simulating acid rain and inoculated with the white pine specific pathotype of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, VPSt-1. Oleoresin concentration increased slightly and carbohydrate concentration decreased in all seedlings treated with simulated acid rain (SAR). The changes were significantly increased after inoculation of SAR-treated white and Scots pine seedlings with VPSt-1. Wilting was delayed and nematode reproduction decreased in SAR-treated white pine seedlings inoculated with VPSt-1. SAR-treated Austrian pine seedlings were resistant to VPSt-1, but SAR-treated Scots pine seedlings lost tolerance to VPSt-1 and wilted 50-60 days after inoculation.

Keywords: Austrian pine; Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; P. strobus; P. sylvestris; Pinus nigra; Scots pine; abiotic stress; acid precipitation; acid rain; carbohydrate; host response; nematode; oleoresin; pathology; pathotype; pine wilt disease; pinewood nematode; resistance; susceptibility; white pine.