Field Guide to Diseases & Insects of the Rocky Mountain Region
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United States Department of Agriculture / Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region, Forest Health Protection Rocky Mountain Research Station General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-241 December 2010 Rocky Mountain Region, Forest Health Protection. 2010. Field guide to diseases & insects of the Rocky Mountain Region. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-241 Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 336 p. Abstract This field guide is a forest management tool for field identification of biotic and abiotic agents that damage native trees in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, which constitute the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region. The guide focuses only on tree diseases and forest insects that have significant economic, ecological, and/ or aesthetic impacts; this guide does not necessarily cover all possible damage agents. Management suggestions are provided where available. The field guide is divided into two sections: one describes both diseases and damage caused by animals and abiotic factors, and the other describes insects. Agents are presented by the type and/or location of the injury on the tree. Written descriptions, color photographs, a general index, an index by host tree species, descriptive tables, and line drawings are all provided to assist users in identifying damaging agents. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and series number. Publishing Services Telephone (970) 498-1392 FAX (970) 498-1122 E-mail [email protected] Web site http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/publications Mailing address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins, CO 80526 Authors Kurt K. Allen James T. Blodgett Kelly S. Burns Robert J. Cain Sheryl L. Costello Tom J. Eager Jeri Lyn Harris Brian E. Howell Roy A. Mask Willis C. Schaupp, Jr. Jeffrey J. Witcosky James J. Worrall Acknowledgments Great appreciation is extended to the entomologists and pathologists who have studied and published on the often complicated life cycles, subtle taxonomic variations, and effective management strategies of the diverse organisms presented in this field guide. References are cited at the end of this guide. The following individuals have all provided invaluable observations through personal communication and published materials: Whitney Cranshaw and William Jacobi with Colorado State University; David Leatherman and Ingrid Aguayo, formerly with Colorado State Forest Service; Mark Harrell with Nebraska Forest Service; John Ball with South Dakota State University; Robert Mathiasen from Northern Arizona University; Les Koch with the Wyoming State Forestry Division; Jose Negron with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS); and John Schmid, formerly with RMRS. Field guides produced in the Pacific Northwest, Northern and Intermountain, and Southwestern Regions of the USDA Forest Service provided insights for layout and design. Many of the photographs presented here were taken by Federal, State, and university pathologists and entomologists from the Rocky Mountain Region or adjacent USDA Forest Service regions and were made available by the University of Georgia through www.bugwood.org. Thanks to MaryLou Fairweather with USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region, for providing scanned photographs from the Field Guide to Insects and Diseases of Arizona and New Mexico. Special thanks also to Jose Negron and Bill Jacobi for their reviews and comments, to Justin Backsen and Diane Hildebrand for their help during manuscript preparation, and to Lindy Myers, Lane Eskew, and Connie Lemos for editing, layout, and publication of the field guide. ii Contents About This Field Guide ............................................................................1 Role of Diseases and Insects in Forest Ecosystems .................................2 Diagnosing Tree Problems .......................................................................3 Diseases Dwarf and True Mistletoes Introduction to Dwarf Mistletoes ........................................................6 Douglas-Fir Dwarf Mistletoe ............................................................10 Limber Pine Dwarf Mistletoe ...........................................................12 Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe ......................................................13 Pinyon Dwarf Mistletoe ....................................................................15 Southwestern Dwarf Mistletoe ..........................................................16 Juniper Mistletoe ................................................................................18 Root Diseases and Stem Decays Introduction to Decay Diseases .........................................................19 Annosus Root Disease .......................................................................25 Armillaria Root Disease .....................................................................28 Black Stain Root Disease ...................................................................31 Coniophora Root and Butt Rot .........................................................35 Root Diseases with White Pocket Rots .............................................38 Schweinitzii Root and Butt Rot ........................................................40 White Mottled Rot ............................................................................42 Aspen Trunk Rot ...............................................................................44 Brown Crumbly Rot ..........................................................................46 Gray-Brown Saprot ...........................................................................48 Red Ray Rot .......................................................................................49 Red Ring Rot .....................................................................................51 Rust-Red Stringy Rot and Red Heart Rot ........................................53 Stem Decays of Hardwoods in the Plains .........................................56 Cankers Introduction to Cankers and Overview of Aspen Cankers ...............60 Black Canker ......................................................................................64 Black Knot of Cherry and Plum ........................................................66 Botryodiplodia Canker.......................................................................67 Cryptosphaeria Canker ......................................................................69 Cytospora Canker of Aspen...............................................................71 Cytospora Canker of Conifers ...........................................................73 Hypoxylon Canker .............................................................................75 Sooty-Bark Canker ............................................................................77 iii Wilts Introduction to Wilt Diseases ............................................................79 Dutch Elm Disease ............................................................................81 Oak Wilt ............................................................................................84 Pine Wilt ............................................................................................87 Verticillium Wilt ................................................................................89 Rusts Introduction to Rust Diseases ............................................................91 Broom Rusts of Spruce and Fir .........................................................94 Comandra and Stalactiform Blister Rusts .........................................97 Gymnosporangium Rusts ................................................................100 Western Gall Rust ...........................................................................103 White Pine Blister Rust ...................................................................105 Foliage Diseases Introduction to Foliage Diseases ......................................................107 Anthracnose .....................................................................................110 Brown Felt Blight ............................................................................113 Cercospora Blight of Junipers ..........................................................114 Davisomycella and Lophodermella Needle Casts ...........................115 Elytroderma Needle Cast ................................................................118 Ink Spot ...........................................................................................120 Marssonina Leaf Blight ...................................................................121 Melampsora Rusts ...........................................................................124 Red Band and Brown Spot Needle Blights .....................................125 Septoria Leaf Spot and Canker .......................................................128 Shoot Blights Pine Shoot Blight and Canker .........................................................129 Shepherd’s Crook .............................................................................132 Abiotic Injuries and Miscellaneous Burls, Galls, and Tumors ..................................................................134 Animal Damage ...............................................................................135 Abiotic Foliage