Question reference: S6W-23727
- Asked by: Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
- Date lodged: 8 December 2023
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 19 December 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any risks to Scotland's native trees from the fungus, Curreya pithyophila.
Answer
An assessment of current and potential future impacts on Scotland’s native trees from the fungus Curreya pithyophila is ongoing.
In late 2022, reports were received of canker and crown dieback symptoms on Scots pine at various locations across Scotland. Subsequent investigations suggest this is likely to be caused by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, Curreya pithyophila , and an adelgid called pine woolly adelgid ( Pineus pini ). This association has been observed occasionally in the UK, continental Europe and north America since the 1800s.
In 2023, Scottish Forestry and Scotland’s Plant Health Centre commissioned Forest Research and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to investigate the causes and impacts of the current occurrences in Scotland.
Surveys were conducted over the summer to identify the distribution of the fungal-adelgid association and if factors such as climate or site type influence symptom severity. Samples were collected to understand the complex relationships between Curreya pithyophila , the pine woolly adelgid and secondary fungal pathogens and to understand if infection differs between provenances of Scots pine. The findings will be published next year.
An assessment of current and potential future impacts on Scotland’s native trees from the fungus Curreya pithyophila is ongoing.
In late 2022, reports were received of canker and crown dieback symptoms on Scots pine at various locations across Scotland. Subsequent investigations suggest this is likely to be caused by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, Curreya pithyophila , and an adelgid called pine woolly adelgid ( Pineus pini ). This association has been observed occasionally in the UK, continental Europe and north America since the 1800s.
In 2023, Scottish Forestry and Scotland’s Plant Health Centre commissioned Forest Research and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to investigate the causes and impacts of the current occurrences in Scotland.
Surveys were conducted over the summer to identify the distribution of the fungal-adelgid association and if factors such as climate or site type influence symptom severity. Samples were collected to understand the complex relationships between Curreya pithyophila , the pine woolly adelgid and secondary fungal pathogens and to understand if infection differs between provenances of Scots pine. The findings will be published next year.