Atropellis canker

Latin name: Atropellis piniphila (Weir) Lohman & Cash
French name: Chancre atropellien
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Helotiales

Description

Micro-habitat(s)

Trunk

Distribution

Western Canada

Damage, symptoms and biology

Damage occurs as mortality, growth reduction, and reduction of value for both chips and finished wood products. The high resin content also interferes with penetration by wood preservatives. Mortality occurs when stems are girdled by large or multiple cankers, and may be severe in dense stands, particularly those growing on dry sites.

Other information

Trees less than 15 yrs old are resistant to infection. In older trees, most infections occur on tissues that are 10-30 yrs old at the time of infection. Virtually no infections occur on tissues less than 5 yrs or greater than 40 yrs old. High levels of infection have been observed after fire in lodgepole pine regeneration that are infected by diseased residual trees not killed in the fire. A closely related fungus, Atropellis pinicola Zeller & Good. is less commonly found in B.C. This fungus attacks branches of western white pine, and occasionally, lodgepole pine.