Effects of gall age, gall size, and rust severity on incidence of the mycoparasite Scytalidium uredinicola

Eighteen lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) stands, 19-32 years in age, were surveyed for Scytalidium uredinicola Kuhlman et al. in west-central Alberta. The purpose of the study was to determine how hyperparasite incidence was affected by gall age, gall size, and the occurrence of western gall rust caused by Endocronartium harknessii (J.P. Moore) Y. Hiratsuka (Peridermium harknessii J.P. Moore). Such information was deemed valuable for evaluating the likelihood that S. uredinicola was functioning as a density-dependent constraint in the pathosystem and assessing the potential for using this fungus as a biological control agent. The hyperparasite was present in all stands, albeit at generally lower levels than previously reported, but there was little evidence that its incidence increased with increasing incidence of gall rust. The odds of hyperparasitism increased by a factor of 1.3 for each year of gall growth, following adjustment for gall size effects, and by a factor of 2.1 for each 1 cm increase in gall size, following adjustment for gall age effects. Since gall age and gall size were positively correlated, there was a strong positive relationship between the unadjusted effects of both age and size and the incidence of S. uredinicola. However, although the incidence of S. uredinicola consistently increased as galls became older and larger, low levels of the hyperparasite on small and young galls may limit the effectiveness of S. uredinicola as a biological control agent.