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Medusa Needle Blight

Davisomycella medusa

42 host plants

Last updated

Data Coverage 3 of 6 dimensions
Causal Agent
Host Plants
Symptoms
Management
GDD Threshold
Regional Notes

Lodgepole pine needles transition from green to straw color, with distinctive elongate black fruiting bodies visible on most needles in late spring. Davisomycella medusa severity increases following drought stress. Remove and destroy infected material. No chemical control is established for forest conditions.

Remove blighted tissue promptly, cutting well below visible symptoms. Improve air circulation by thinning dense growth. Avoid overhead watering, especially during bloom and new growth periods when tissues are most susceptible. For recurring problems, preventive fungicide applications timed to protect new growth can reduce infection, but cultural controls should be your first approach.

Quick Reference

Causal Agent
Davisomycella medusa
Host Plants
42
Favorable Conditions
Open, exposed stands with good air movement favor spore dispersal; drought st...

Management

What Triggers Infection

Open, exposed stands with good air movement favor spore dispersal; drought stress increases susceptibility; intensity increases in years following drought

Cultural Controls

  • Remove and destroy blighted plant material and plant debris that is found under trees or caught in limbs.

Host Plants (42)

Pinus albicaulis Whitebark Pine, Scrub Pine, White Pine Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine, Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Interior Bristlecone Pinus attenuata Knobcone Pine Pinus banksiana Jack Pine, Scrub Pine, Banksian Pine, Hudson Bay Pine Pinus bungeana Lacebark Pine, Whitebark Pine, Baipi Song Pinus canariensis Canary Island Pine Pinus cembra Swiss Stone Pine Pinus contorta Lodgepole Pine Pinus contorta var. contorta Shore Pine Pinus contorta var. latifolia Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Pinus coulteri Coulter Pine, Bigcone Pine Pinus densiflora Japanese Red Pine Pinus edulis Pinyon Pine, Piñón Pine, Two-needle Pinyon Colorado Pinyon Pinus elliottii Slash Pine, Swamp Pine Pinus flexilis Limber Pine, Rocky Mountain White Pine Pinus halepensis Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem Pine Pinus heldreichii Bosnian Pine, Snakeskin Pine Pinus jeffreyi Jeffrey Pine, Western Yellow Pine, Bull Pine Pinus kwangtungensis Kwangtung Pine, Guangdong Pine Pinus lambertiana Sugar Pine Pinus leucodermis Bosnian Pine Pinus monophylla Singleleaf Pinon Pine, One-leaved Pine Pinus monticola Western White Pine Pinus mugo Mugo Pine Pinus mugo var. pumilio Mugo pine, Dwarf Mugo pine Pinus nigra Austrian Pine Pinus parviflora Japanese White Pine Pinus parvifola Pinus parvifola Pinus pinaster Maritime Pine, Cluster Pine, Turpentine Pine Pinus pinea Italian Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine Pinus ponderosa Ponderosa Pine, Western Yellow Pine Pinus pumila Japanese Stone Pine, Dwarf Siberian Pine Pinus radiata Monterey Pine Pinus resinosa Red Pine Pinus sabiniana Gray Pine, Foothill Pine Pinus strobiformis Southwestern White Pine, Mexican White Pine, Chihuahua White Pine Pinus strobus Eastern White Pine Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine, Scotch Pine Pinus thunbergii Japanese Black Pine Pinus virginiana Virginia Pine, Scrub Pine, Jersey Pine Pinus wallichiana Himalayan Pine, Bhutan Pine Pinus yunnanensis Yunnan Pine