Sphaeropsis sapinea associated with shoot blight, dieback and canker in trunks, branches and roots of Caribbean pine in Venezuela

For 30 years the southern plains of Anzoategui and Monagas States, Venezuel a, have been planted with Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea I ar. hondurensis) . Until december 2000 pine comprised an extention of 615,000ha, which repre sents the largest tropical area with a monospecific forestal plantation. Du ring 1997 and 1998 hundreds of thousands pine trees died in these plantatio ns. Shoot blight, dieback and canker on trunks, branches and roots were the most common symptoms. From different infected tissues a fungus identified as Sphaeropsis sapinea (=Diplodia pinea) was consistently isolated. Pathoge n identity was deter-mined from morphology and size of reproductive structu res. Based on colony morphology and conidia cell wall texture the isolates M ere recognized as members of morphotype B. Inoculations an wounded sterns and twigs of Caribbean pine seedlings, using colonized gauze and mycelium- agar plugs, produced the canker and shoot blight symptoms observed in the f ield. S. sapinea was consistently isolated from inoculated materials. The d amages observed were related to predisposition by prolonged rt ater deficie ncy caused by the atmospheric phenomenon of "El Nino". After rain normaliza tion new infections M,ere not detected and many previously affected trees r ecuperated and reassumed growth.