ACREMONIUM RECIFEI : A NEW CAUSAL AGENT OF MACADAMIA QUICK DECLINE

Abstract Quick decline is the most serious disease of macadamia trees in Hawaii. Some macadamia trees showing symptoms of quick decline in commercial orchards on the island of Hawaii did not display macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies on the trunks. Acremonium recifei was consistently isolated from bark and wood obtained from trunks of these trees. The fungus was demonstrated to kill twigs of healthy macadamia trees when these twigs were artificially inoculated. Results suggest that trunk infection by A. recifei may lead to girdling, resulting in a rapid decline of macadamia trees.