A Reliable and Simple Method for the Production of Viable Pycnidiospores of the Pine Pathogen and a Spore-Based Infection Assay on Scots Pine.

is a globally distributed opportunistic fungal pathogen of conifers that causes severe production losses in forestry. The fungus frequently colonizes pine trees as an endophyte without causing visible symptoms but can become pathogenic when the host plant is weakened by stress, such as drought or heat. Forest damage might therefore further increase due to the effects of climate change.