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A survey of more than 200 trees has documented the widespread occurrence of Xylella fastidiosa in Florida oak populations. The pathogen was detected readily via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in oaks exhibiting decline or leaf scorch symptoms and was infrequently detected in asymptomatic trees. It was also associated with reduced growth in Quercus laevis as measured by current-year shoot length. The occurrence of X. fastidiosa in Q. laevis and the evidence for its occurrence in Q. incana represent first reports for these oak hosts. The role of X. fastidiosa in oak decline scenarios deserves further attention.

Summary Fusarium circinatum is a serious pathogen of Pinus spp. worldwide, causing pitch canker disease. F. circinatum can contaminate seeds both internally and externally and is readily disseminated via contaminated seed. Many countries require screening of pine seeds for F. circinatum before they can be imported. The currently accepted screening method is based on culturing the pathogen on a semi‐selective medium and identifying it using morphological traits. This method is time‐consuming and does not allow for accurate identification of the pathogen to the species level. A bulk DNA extraction and real‐time PCR procedure to screen seeds for the presence of F. circinatum were developed in this study. The real‐time PCR method resulted in the detection of F. circinatum in 5 of 6 commercial seed lots tested and has a lower detection limit of 1 × 10−5 ng of F. circinatum DNA per PCR. The culture‐based method detected Fusarium spp. in four of six of the same seed lots. The real‐time PCR method can be used to screen multiple seed lots in 2 days, whereas the culture‐based method requires a minimum of 1–2 weeks. This new real‐time PCR seed screening method allows for fast, sensitive and accurate screening and can be adapted to handle larger volumes of seeds.

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Abstract-A study was conducted as a preliminary characterization of the ability of Aroclor 1248 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated sediments to volatilize PCBs into the air upon drying under conditions meant to be environmentally relevant. Sediments collected from the St. Lawrence River contained high levels (ϳ600 ppm) of PCBs. The PCB contamination consisted of high levels of mainly ortho-substituted mono-and dichlorobiphenyls, suggesting that the original contamination had been transformed by microbial reductive dechlorination. These sediments lost 0.07 to 1.7% of their total PCB content to the air during a 24-h drying cycle. Sediments with varying amounts of overlying water (40 g of sediment with 25-100 ml of water) lost significantly less PCB to the air within the first few cycles than native sediments with no overlying water. Losses due to PCB volatilization were well correlated to sediment PCB concentration and water loss but not to drying temperatures (4-43ЊC) within 24-h drying cycles. The PCB congeners (mostly ortho-substituted mono-, di-, and trichlorobiphenyls) representing Ͼ90% of those volatilized within the first 24 h of drying were those produced in the sediment samples as a result of microbial reductive dechlorination of the original Aroclor 1248 contamination. The presence of these congeners in volatilized air samples was positively confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with Fourier transform infrared detection (FTIR). These results strongly suggest that significant amounts of mono-, di-, and trichlorobiphenyls may be volatilized from Aroclor 1248-contaminated sediments at ambient environmental conditions and that this PCB volatilization may be enhanced by microbial reductive dechlorination.