Temperature and inoculation method influence disease phenotypes and mortality of Eucalyptus marginata clonal lines inoculated with Phytophthora cinnamomi

Survival of l-year-old plants of three clonal lines of Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah), two ranked as resistant (RR1 and RR2) and one as susceptible (SS1) to Phytophthora cinnamomi, was assessed after pathogen inoculation with either mycelial mats underbark or zoospores on the stem. Plants were grown at 15,20, 25 and 30°C. Method of inoculation did not produce comparable mortalities of the clonal lines, particularly at 25 and 30°C. At these temperatures, all three clonal lines had 100% mortality when inoculated underbark, but when inoculated with zoospores, RR1 had 60% survival and lines SS1 and RR2 had 100% mortality. Generally, the level of resistance of all clonal lines declined with increasing temperature. RR2 had consistently higher mortality than SS1, and is therefore not considered resistant. Lesion development was also measured in detached stems of RR1 and a susceptible clonal line (SS2) each inoculated underbark with four different P. cinnamomi isolates. Stems were assessed for lesion development at 20, 25 and 30°C for 4 days. For all four isolates, detached stems of RR1 generally had smaller lesions than those of SS2, particularly at 30°C. The increase in lesion length with increasing temperature was greatest for SS2. Detached stems may have potential in screening for jarrah resistant to P. cinnamomi and allow identification of susceptible clonal lines at 30°C.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]