Abstract: | Seedlings of Pinus sylvestris, P. nigra ssp. laricio, and P. mugo vars mughus, rostrata and pumilio were inoculated at their cotyledon stage with aeciospores of Peridermium pini from north-east Scotland. Infection was determined by the presence of both mycelia and haustoria in free-hand or paraffin sections. In the second growing season, infected seedlings showed symptoms such as stem-swelling, development of spermogonia and aecia, and death. In a second experiment, young P. sylvestris seedlings from seven seed sources collected in Great Britain were inoculated and the infection were examined after 6 weeks. In the samples of 50 seedlings from each source, 30–70% seedlings were infected. |