The influence of canopy density on willow leaf rust (Melampsora epitea) severity in willow short rotation coppice

Willow short rotation coppice is used as a renewable energy source and also as a vegetation filter for purifying wastewater. Wastewater irrigation might change microclimatic conditions and increase the canopy density in plantations, which might decrease production due to leaf rust (Melampsora epitea). The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of the canopy density on rust abundance on willows. For that, we counted rust pustules on leaves of five different willow clones from dense and sparse areas in both the wastewater irrigated and control part of the plantation. The results demonstrated clear differences between clones; clone ‘81090’ was very susceptible, ‘78183’ susceptible, ‘78021’ fairly tolerant and ‘Tora’ rust resistant. Clone ‘Gudrun’, which was previously reported resistant, had severe rust damages in Estonia. In the case of clones ‘78183’ and ‘78021’ there were significantly more rust pustules per leaf unit area at areas with denser canopy, which confirmed that higher plant density could result in biomass losses caused by leaf rust. No differences, however, were detected between dense and sparse areas of hybrid clone ‘Gudrun’, most probably because in this particular case leaves from upper canopy layer were used. There was a tendency detected that clones with a higher number of shoots per plant had more rust damages on their leaves, however, the correlation was not statistically confirmed. In conclusion, the impact of canopy density on rust abundance is clone-specific and significant in the case of clones on which infection starts from the lower part of the canopy.