Webinar: Improving decision making for red needle cast management
Red needle cast (RNC) has been affecting New Zealand’s radiata pine (and Douglas fir) plantations since at least 2008. RNC is broadly known to follow seasonal patterns, in which the foliage gradually turns red over winter before casting in spring. New foliage grows over the spring, with little new disease development over summer, resulting in trees that appear healthy by late summer, although with reduced needle retention. The natural decline in severity and the emergence of healthy flush over summer can lead to a general lack of concern over the impact of this disease, which has not been well quantified before now.
Despite this strong seasonal pattern, the extent and severity of RNC outbreaks have been largely unpredictable, often resulting in boom-and-bust disease years. Research on the epidemiology and impact of RNC, complemented by improvements in remote sensing, has vastly improved our understanding of what drives these outbreaks and the growth impacts they cause. I will present a prototype model that predicts the infection risk under different climate conditions, the impact RNC has on basal area increment in a range of case studies, control methods that are in development, and how this information together may be used to make decisions on RNC management.
Fortunately, the best treatment identified is fundamentally the same as that used for Dothistroma disease control, but there are timing differences. The industry Dothistroma Control Committee is incorporating RNC responses into Dothistroma control programmes where this is required.
Speaker Profiles:
Dr. Emily McLay is a forest pathologist at Scion Research interested in the foliar diseases of New Zealand’s production forests. Dr. McLay leads the biotic resilience research area within the FGR Resilient Forests Programme, which investigates the impact, epidemiology, monitoring, and control of radiata pine diseases.
Don Hammond is secretary of the Dothistroma Control Committee and Phytos and is very experienced in forest and forest products biosecurity management in New Zealand. Don will address the practical implementation of the RNC research results.
Time: 7:30pm NZST
Date: Tuesday, 9th July 2024
Ticket Costs: $NZD
$10 NZIF Members
$10 Australian Forestry Members (please quote membership number in 'note to administrator')
$30 Non Members
Free: NZIF Student members only
Ticket Sales close: 3:00pm on 9th July 2024
Everyone who complete registration:
- receives a link and joining instructions
- receives a recording of the webinar, so if you can’t listen live you can listen later.