Norida Hanim Awing

Over the years, Eucalyptus plantations have rapidly expanded in Sarawak, Malaysia, accounting for 19% of the total forest plantation area. In a routine forest health surveillance conducted in 2022 at Sarawak, Malaysia, tree stands of Eucalyptus urograndis (Eucalyptus grandis × Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid) were detected with symptoms of stem canker disease caused by Chrysoporthe infection. Given the limited information on the chemical control of Chrysoporthe stem canker disease, there is a growing need to develop effective chemical control strategies to protect and cure Chrysoporthe infection on E. urograndis trees. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the causal pathogen of this stem canker disease in 7-year-old E. urograndis trees in Sarawak, Malaysia, and evaluate the efficacy of various fungicides as curative or protectant treatments on canker infection using artificial inoculation methods. Fungal isolates were first collected and subjected to molecular identification and pathogenicity analysis. Then, in vitro efficacy tests were evaluated using five licensed fungicides: thiram, prochloraz manganese chloride, copper hydroxide, dimethomorph, and mancozeb. Subsequently, the performance of these fungicides was assessed through preventive and curative field experiments on 10-year-old E. urograndis trees using the artificial inoculation technique. Based on the morphological and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS1/ITS4, β-tubulin 2 (BT2), and the combined ITS1/ITS4 and BT2 sequences extracted from 20 fungal isolates, Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis was identified as the causal pathogen of the canker disease, with isolate CHRY18 recording the highest virulence. The in vitro efficacy tests showed that prochloraz manganese chloride achieved 100% inhibition against C. deuterocubensis at 1.0 mg/mL. In the preventive experiment, thiram significantly inhibited C. deuterocubensis infection, yielding the shortest lesion length (19.40 mm) compared to the non-treated control (47.48 mm) at 20 weeks post-inoculation. In the curative experiment, a significant reduction of 54.7% in lesion length was observed in inoculated symptomatic trees after 20 weeks of post-fungicide treatment with copper hydroxide. In conclusion, this study demonstrated prochloraz manganese chloride, thiram, and copper hydroxide as effective chemical controls of C. deuterocubensis stem canker on E. urograndis.

Commercial plantations of Eucalyptus species have been established in Malaysia, especially during the past 10 years, with the aim of sustaining the supply of wood and timber products for industrial use in Malaysia. As part of an assessment of fungal diseases affecting Eucalyptus species in four regions in Malaysia, including Kelantan, Pahang, Sabah, and Selangor, stem canker disease was discovered to be a widespread disease infecting Eucalyptus species in Malaysia. This study aimed to identify the fungus-causing stem canker disease, test its pathogenicity in Eucalyptus, and determine the mating type of isolates from the infected trees. The fungi were identified based on morphology and through comparisons of DNA sequence data from the ITS, β-tubulin 2 gene, and TEF-1α gene regions. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the causal agent of the stem canker was Chrysoporthe cubensis infecting Eucalyptus plantations in Pahang and Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis infecting Eucalyptus plantations in Kelantan, Sabah, and Selangor. We believe this is the first report of Chrysoporthe cubensis-infected Eucalyptus in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, while Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis is the first-reported species infecting Eucalyptus pellita in Malaysia. Moreover, the fact that the mating-type MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 genes and the pheromone genes ppg1, ppg2, pre1, and pre2 were identified in all isolates indicates that Chrysoporthe cubensis and Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis are homothallic mating systems. Pathogenicity was tested on a 3-year-old standing tree, 1-year-old seedling, and detached healthy leaves, which were re-isolated for fulfilling Koch’s postulates. In pathogenicity trials, both Chrysoporthe cubensis and Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis gave rise to lesions on wounded Eucalyptus. Both Chrysoporthe spp. were equally pathogenic to Eucalyptus urograndis and Eucalyptus pellita and should be regarded as a biosecurity concern in Malaysia’s forest plantation industry.