Silva Balcanica 24(3): 35-42, doi: 10.3897/silvabalcanica.24.e116036
Monitoring of the health status of Castanea sativa in the Belasitsa mountain, southwest Bulgaria
Margarita Georgieva‡, Georgi Georgiev‡, Plamen Mirchev‡, Eva Filipova‡, Maria Matova‡, Sevdalin Belilov‡, Svetozar Madzhov‡, Mihaela Hristova‡‡ Forest Research Institute, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Corresponding author: Margarita Georgieva ( margaritageorgiev@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Ivailo Markoff © Margarita Georgieva, Georgi Georgiev, Plamen Mirchev, Eva Filipova, Maria Matova, Sevdalin Belilov, Svetozar Madzhov, Mihaela Hristova. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Georgieva M, Georgiev G, Mirchev P, Filipova E, Matova M, Belilov S, Madzhov S, Hristova M (2023) Monitoring of the health status of Castanea sativa in the Belasitsa mountain, southwest Bulgaria. Silva Balcanica 24(3): 35-42. https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.24.e116036 |  |
Abstract
In the period 2017-2023, a survey for the assessment of the phytosanitary condition of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) was conducted in a permanent sample plot (PSP) Belasitsa, which is part of the European large-scale network for monitoring the health status of forest ecosystems under the International Co-operative Program ‘Forests’. The PSP is set in a natural chestnut stand in Belasitsa mountain at an altitude of 643 m. Data collected from the first years of the monitoring determined a slight deterioration in the health status of the chestnut trees caused by an infection with the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica. An improvement in trees’ vitality and lack of active necrosis were observed in 2022-2023. On the wounds, initiation of callus along the wounded edges was reported. Currently, the introduction of new and dangerous invasive insect pests Dryocosmus kuriphilus, Corythucha arcuata, etc., has not been detected. Attacks of both pests could further deteriorate the health status of the sweet chestnut in Belasitsa.
Keywords
Sweet chestnut, monitoring of health status, Cryphonectria parasitica, Belasitsa mountain