Disease Management in the Forest Plantations in Chile

Abstract

Commercial plantations in Chile are composed mainly of P. radiata, Eucalyptus globulus, and E. nitens, which together represent 94% of the total plantations. Pinus radiata constitutes the largest surface area of plantations, including about 1.4 million ha (58%), while Eucalyptus spp. are about 860, 000 ha (36%) of the approximately 2.4 million ha of commercial plantations in the country. Most of the commercial plantations in Chile belong to private industry. Currently, the most important diseases in P. radiata are caused by four pathogens, while in Eucalyptus spp. there are not an important disease present at this time. The pathogens pose tremendous challenges for forestry since they affect the three main parts of the trees, namely the root systems and collars in the case of Fusarium circinatum in nurseries, the stems by Neonectria fuckeliana, and the foliage by Phytophthora pinifolia and Dothistroma septosporum. For these diseases, a strategy has been developed based on surveillance for early detection, biology of the damage agent, control of agents, and improvements in the quality of the plants (selection for tolerance). Due to different constraints (e.g., FSC, environmental and social risks), it is not easy to apply a curative treatment for diseases damage, and consequently various approaches have been tested to develop an integrated management program using different tools, according on the characteristics of each damage agent. Preliminary results have shown that it will be possible to reduce the damage caused by diseases in both nurseries and plantations, using a combination of management strategies.