Black staining/fungi on pine?

[ben lightfoot]

Noticed this discolouration on some forest pines and some lead to dieback and death. Any ideas?

[David Humphries]

Hi Ben,

 

thought about this the other day but forgot to input.

 

I would lean toward either Armillaria infection or wood boring beetles (many on pine)

 

If the latter, you could try pulling off any dead bark and check for galleries under the bark.

 

Different patterns can help lead to identification of which feeder it might be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[treeseer]

Yes pulling off dead bark is path to diagnosis. I've seen similar on pine but not related dieback. Maybe a look inside will confirm a conneciton, or not.

The way it oozes out of nodes lloks fungal, like a phellinus canker rotter busting out. or not.

[ben lightfoot]

I'm thinking a wood boring beetle too as I had a poke around a felled tree and area contained a lot of wood lice so could be an entry point. Will have another look in a few weeks, not worried just curious/interested as it is a plantation, thanks for replies