The Fungal Pathogen Induces Damaging Cankers in Multiple Domestic Species.

is internationally recognized as a destructive pathogen of chestnut species. Primarily associated with nut rot, it has also been associated with branch and stem cankers of chestnut and as an endophyte of multiple additional hardwood species. The present study evaluated implications of the recently reported United States presence of the pathogen for domestic species. Stem inoculation assays of , , × , and (red oak) seedlings were utilized to examine the cankering ability of a regional isolate of the pathogen. The pathogen induced damaging cankers in all assessed species and significant stem girdling in all chestnut species. No previous study has associated the pathogen with damaging infection in species, and its presence in the United States has the potential to compound ongoing chestnut recovery programs and oak regeneration problems within forest systems.