2008 Research Highlights
Scientists Map Potential Pest Host Route
Phytophthora kernoviae, a pathogen recently identified in the United Kingdom, is similar to Phytophthora ramorum (a pathogen first reported in 1995 that is killing oaks and other species in California and Oregon). Scientists are proactively researching P. kernoviae to evaluate potential risks if it becomes established in the United States.
An Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center cooperating scientist at North Carolina State University (NCSU), working with scientists from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), has developed detailed maps of host distribution and detailed a hypothesis of host epidemiology involving overstory species, midstory sporulators, and background susceptibility species. NCSU provided spatial data on pathways of spread while the APHIS scientists developed a climate model using the NCSU_APHIS Plant Pest Forcasting (NAPPFAST) system. The resulting risk map has been rolled into a broader recovery plan for P. kernoviae, which was compiled by the USDA as part of the National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS) called for in a recent Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-9). The recovery plan is currently in review.
Contact: Bill Bechtold, Forest Health Monitoring team leader, (828) 257-4357, wabechtold@fs.fed.us
Partners: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
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Top photo by Central Science Laboratory Archive, Crown Copyright, United Kingdom, www.bugwood.org; Bottom photo by Forest Research, United Kingdom Forestry Commission, www.bugwood.org
