Seiridium Canker of Cypress Trees in Arizona
Leyland cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii) is a fast-growing evergreen that has been widely planted as a landscape specimen and along boundaries to create windbreaks or privacy screening in the lower, middle, and higher elevations of Arizona. In July 2011, Seiridium canker (Seiridium unicorne) was confirmed on Leyland cypress in Prescott, Arizona. This fungal pathogen is also known to impact Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens). Seiridium canker was previously known to exist in coastal California and the southeastern coastal region of the U.S. between Virginia and Florida. Preliminary findings indicate that Arizona's arid environment gives rise to cankers that are drier in appearance and less obvious than those found in more humid environments making it more difficult to diagnose without a microscope. The confirmed presence of this disease could seriously impact residential and commercial landscapes as well as commercial nursery production and the landscape industry.
AZ1557
Keywords:
- seiridiun
- canker
- disease
- pathogen
- fungal
- leyland
- cypress
- cupressus
- cupressocyparis
- leylandi
Publication Date:
January 2012
AZ1557
Pages:
3 pp.