Nursery disease threatens NZ forest industry

Friday 20 Dec 2024

 
The New Zealand forest industry is facing one of it’s biggest biological threats ever. The fungal disease Terminal Crook is having a severe impact on forest nursery’s ability to supply their forest clients. The disease has caused several nurseries to lose up to half their crop. It has contributed to the demise of at least one nursery and severely threatened others.

Terminal Crook has been a known nursery disease for 50 years, but usually controlled with a fungicide spray program. Four years ago several Central North Island forest nurseries noticed their Terminal Crook (TC) not responding to traditional treatments, and running rampant.

The question of “what has changed?” may have been answered recently when Scion scientists observed that the problem fungus had grey spore clusters, and not the known pink fruiting bodies. This may explain why nursery growers suddenly found TC impervious to fungicides, more virulent and more aggressive.

This new “strain” is active nearly all year round, whereas the original was only a warm month problem during December to February. This suggests it has the potential to spread throughout the country. The new “strain” appears to be spreading to other nurseries already. 

The NZ Forest Nursery Growers Assn has funded research to find fungicide solutions, with limited success and still very little is known about the disease. It is now hoped that the forest industry will help fund more research before forest owners are faced with prepared planting sites and no seedlings available.

Source: Rotorua Forest Nursery
Image credit: NZFFA


Share |


Copyright 2004-2024 © Innovatek Ltd. All rights reserved.