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| Using traditional tree breeding techniques, OFRI research geneticist Pengxin Lu has developed white pine hybrids that show resistance to blister rust. Planting these hybrids, which are mostly eastern white pine with a small amount of Eurasian pine genes, could help restore white pine to sites at high risk for blister rust infection. |
Contact: Pengxin Lu
Eastern white pine, Ontario's provincial tree, is highly valued for its timber and ecological value. However, white pine is much less common across the landscape than it was a century ago. Its vulnerability to blister rust, a serious disease caused by an invasive alien fungus, presents challenges to forestry professionals trying to regenerate this species.
Researchers have been testing various genetic families of eastern white pine for resistance to blister rust and using traditional breeding techniques to cross eastern white pine with Eurasion pines that evolved with the fungus to try to produce trees that can resist the disease.
They are also propagating (producing new trees by rooting cuttings from existing trees) and field-testing hybrids to see how well they grow in a range of Ontario conditions.
Results will help resource managers restore white pine to its former range in Ontario.
Want to read more?
Feature publications:
Effects of Seedling Age on Blister Rust Resistance Assessments in Eastern White Pine and its Hybrid Backcrosses (order PDF)
Breeding White Pine for Resistance to Blister Rust: Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus L.) and Interspecific Hybridization
Breeding Eastern White Pine for Blister Rust Resistance: A Review of Progress in Ontario
Web news article:
Can Introducing Genetic Resistance Help Manage Blister Rust in Eastern White Pine?
