Tree Killers: White Pine Blister Rust
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Name
- Common English name: White Pine Blister Rust
- Other names:
- Latin (scientific) name: Cronartium ribicola
History in Canada
- introduced on imported pine seedlings from Europe to New York (1906) and to Vancouver (1910)
- slowly spread across North America
Biology
- this is a fungus that attacks several species of pine, especially Eastern White Pine, Western White Pine, Sugar Pine, Whitebark Pine, Limber Pine, and Southwestern White Pine
- the fungus enters the leaves and spreads to the branches
- the disease has a complex life history and cannot spread directly from pine to pine but must develop on an intermediate host: the leaves of Gooseberries or Currants (Ribes spp.)
- the fungus seems to have little impact on Gooseberries or Currants
Impact on Trees
- seedlings are most vulnerable and usually killed
- older trees can have branches or tops killed by the fungus but will survive as long as the trunk is uninfected
- tree is killed when the infection girdles the trunk
What can be done to control this tree killer?
- past efforts involved removing the intermediate host (Gooseberries and Currants) or preventing them from being grown in important pine-growing regions
- preventing the shipping of pine nursery stock from infected to disease-free areas
- pruning lower branches to reduce the likelihood of infection migrating to the trunk
- developing disease-resistant strains for replanting
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