← Diseases

White Pine Blister Rust

Cronartium ribicola

53 host plants · Fungal

Last updated

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

You'll spot this disease on five-needle white pines, where stem cankers girdled by blistered, resinous bark signal infection. The blister rust attacks the branches and trunk, causing characteristic orange-yellow pustules on Ribes (currant and gooseberry) alternate hosts. Late summer and fall cool, moist conditions favor the spread of spores from infected currants to nearby pines. Infected branches show early defoliation and dieback by mid-summer.

White pine blister rust is devastating to five-needle pines because once the fungus girdles a branch or the main stem, that portion dies. Your tree's ability to recover depends on location of the canker and how quickly you act. The critical management move is preventing infection in the first place by removing currant and gooseberry plants within several hundred feet of white pines, especially in moist, low-air-circulation sites. Plant resistant species or five-needle pines in sites with good air drainage and at least 300 feet from alternate hosts.

Quick Reference

Agent Type
fungal
Causal Agent
Cronartium ribicola
Host Plants
53
Spread
Wind-dispersed basidiospores from infected Ribes to pine needles
Favorable Conditions
Cool, moist conditions in fall; requires proximity to alternate Ribes host sp...

Management

Vulnerability Window

Late summer to fall; initial infection on pines occurs in early autumn

What Triggers Infection

Cool, moist conditions in fall; requires proximity to alternate Ribes host species

Cultural Controls

  • Plant resistant species.
  • Only five-needle (white) pines are affected.
  • Remove severely infected trees.
  • Prune infected branches, making pruning cuts well below diseased tissues.
  • Do not plant in sites with poor air circulation, as moist conditions favor disease.
  • Do not plant white pines near currant or gooseberry patches.

Host Plants (53)

Agathis australis Kauri Tāne Mahuta, Kauri Pine Araucaria araucana Monkey Puzzle Tree, Chilean Pine Araucaria bidwillii Bunya Pine Araucaria cunninghamii Hoop Pine, Moreton Bay Pine Araucaria heterophylla Norfolk Island Pine Athrotaxis laxifolia Tasmanian Pencil Pine, Summit Cedar Cephalotaxus harringtonia Japanese Plum Yew, Cow's Tail Pine Glyptostrobus pensilis Chinese Swamp Cypress, Water Pine Water Fir Shui song Microcachrys tetragona Creeping Pine, Creeping Strawberry Pine 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 Sciadopitys verticillata Japanese Umbrella Pine, Umbrella Pine Wollemia nobilis Wollemi Pine