Pathogenicity to Douglas-fir of Ophiostoma pseudotsugae and Leptographium abietinum, fungi associated with the Douglas-fir beetle

Pole-size Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) France) were inoculated with two fungi (Ophiostoma pseudotsugae (Rumb.) von Ant and Leptographium abietinum (Peck) Wingf.) associated with the Douglas-fir beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins) to evaluate their pathogenicity. Pruning the lowermost 30% of the live crown had no effect on host tree defenses. Inoculation with O. pseudotsugae produced significantly longer lesions in the phloem and resulted in a significantly greater percentage of necrotic phloem than inoculation with L. abietinum. The percentage of occluded sapwood was also greater following O. pseudotsugae inoculations, but the difference was not statistically significant. Individual lesion lengths declined significantly with increasing inoculation density, but the total percentage of necrotic phloem increased significantly. Both fungi appeared to be better adapted to grow in sapwood than in phloem. None of the inoculated trees were dead after 5 months, but some were chlorotic with less than 30% functional sapwood within the inoculation band. The results suggest that these fungi may assist the Douglas-fir beetle in overcoming the defenses of live trees.