MR BIOLOGY PAPER: Resistance to Austropuccinia ...

Resistance of New Zealand Provenance Leptospermum scoparium, Kunzea robusta, Kunzea linearis, and Metrosideros excelsa to Austropuccinia psidii

April 2020

Smith GR, Ganley BJ, Chagné D, Nadarajan J, Pathirana RN, Ryan J, Arnst EA, Sutherland R, Soewarto J, Houliston G, Marsh AT, Koot E, Carnegie AJ, Menzies T, Lee DJ, Shuey LS, Pegg GS. 2020. Resistance of New Zealand Provenance Leptospermum scoparium, Kunzea robusta, Kunzea linearis, and Metrosideros excelsa to Austropuccinia psidii. Plant Disease 104(6): 1771-1780.

ABSTRACT

This paper reports the first assessments of germplasm from six myrtaceous species— Meterosideros excelsa (pōhutukawa), Leptospermum scoparium (mānuka), Kunzea robusta (kānuka), Kunzea linearis (rawiri mānuka), Lophomyrtus bullata (ramarama), and Lophomyrtus obcordata (rōhutu)—of New Zealand provenance for resistance to the pandemic strain of Austropuccinia psidii, and discuss the findings in the context of options to maintain these species within ecosystems.

KEYWORDS

cultivar resistance; disease development and spread; disease management; epidemiology; fungi; kānuka; mānuka; myrtaceae; ornamentals; pandemic strain; pōhutukawa; ramarama; rawiri mānuka; rōhutu; trees; woody ornamentals