THE ABILITY OF PHYTOPHTHORA-CINNAMOMI TO INFECT THROUGH UNWOUNDED ANDWOUNDED PERIDERM TISSUE OF EUCALYPTUS-MARGINATA

Unwounded and wounded periderm tissue of 1-year old stems of Eucalyptu s marginata were infected and lesioned after 5 days' exposure to eithe r mycelium or motile zoospores of Phytophthora cinnamomi. Lesions prod uced by P. cinnamomi were longer in wounded than in unwounded stems. T he inclusion of non-sterile mine site soil with inocula in the unwound ed treatments did not affect the rate or extent to which P. cinnamomi colonized E. marginata stem tissue. The ability of P. cinnamomi zoospo res to infect unwounded suberized woody tissue of E. marginata, has im portant implications for mine site rehabilitation in P. cinnamomi infe sted areas. This is the first study to demonstrate clearly that zoospo res of P. cinnamomi can infect and invade unwounded suberized tissue.