Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.) Dyko & B. Sutton in Pinus sylvestris L. stands affected by long-term drought

In this study, the fruit bodies (pycnidial) colonization and spore presence of Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.) Dyko & B. Sutton on Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees in stands affected by long-term drought in the Czech Republic were evaluated. A total of 520 cones at four sites were evaluated every 1.5 months from June 2019 to December 2020. The pycnidia of S. sapinea in relation to colonization by subcortical insects in inner bark and wood, and wood-decaying fungi a total of 340 trunks at 17 sites during the autumn of 2020 were also evaluated. Pycnidial colonization of S. sapinea on cones was significantly higher at the site with the highest air humidity and significantly lower in the sampling periods of June 2019, August 2019, and November 2019, which were characterized by low precipitation levels. S. sapinea spore presence on cones was significantly higher at sites in Bohemia compared to those in Moravia, in sites with higher air humidity, and in three consecutive sampling periods in March 2020–June 2020. Pycnidial colonization of S. sapinea on trunks was significantly positively dependent on the colonization of subcortical insects in both inner bark and wood, but not with the colonization of wood-decaying fungi. The results of this study show a positive relationship between high humidity and colonization by subcortical insects in inner bark and wood with S. sapinea on Scots pine.