Ecological role of the beech (Fagus sylvatica) provenance in the development of Fusarium sambucinum damping-off symptoms

The contribution of this work enables efficient selection of F. sylvatica initial and reproductive material tolerant to the development of Fusarium sambucinum, providing better regeneration and seedlings production.

The Fagus sylvatica damping-off caused by Fusarium sambucinum is a well-known but insufficiently studied disease, especially since it appears on other tree species in beech forests, creating a great possibility of beech infection. To understand the development processes of this fungus in natural stands and improve nursery production, we examined the influence of F. sylvatica germinants of different provenances on the development of damping-off symptoms caused by F. sambucinum. Our results indicated that the different provenances of F. sylvatica did not affect the possibility of symptoms, indicating the potential for intensive occurrence of infection with this fungal pathogen in geographically different F. sylvatica forests. Certain provenances showed statistically significant smaller dimensions of necrotic lesions and a higher degree of survival. The tolerant provenance seed had differences in width and thickness size compared to susceptible provenances. This research represents for the first time a reasonable basis for selecting initial material tolerant to damping-off caused by F. sambucinum.