Swiss needle cast is a fungal disease whose only host is Doug las-fir. The fungus infects the tree through the needles. The infection eventually causes needles to turn yellow and fall off prematurely; a severely infected tree can lose all but the current year's needles. The disease is debilitating, slows the tree's growth, and makes it more susceptible to pests and competition from shrubs and other vegetation. Thus the tree is apt to die of secondary causes, though not of the infection directly. The problem is especially bad for Christmas trees, because their appearance is so important and so badly affected by the disease.

Though Swiss needle cast is a native disease, it has moved with the trees. It is now a problem in Europe, where it was first identified in Switzerland in the 1920s, New Zealand, and across the United States. A survey done on the Oregon coast in the 1930s found it already present, but the problem has worsened in recent years. The secondary effect of losing out to competing vegetation is especially problematic on the Oregon coast, where everything grows so quickly.

Two factors make Swiss needle cast an issue now. Much more Douglas-fir is growing today than grew years ago, so more trees can be affected. In addition, the disease does seem to have gotten worse in the 1980s. At that time it occurred primarily on trees brought in from non-local seed sources to reforest devastated areas. Local trees were apparently resistant, but the trees grown from seed brought in from other areas were introduced to the inevitably wetter conditions of the Oregon coast and were susceptible. However, since 1994, the disease has appeared even on trees with local origins.

Researchers in the Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative are looking beyond the use of fungicides for several reasons. Current fungicides are ineffective over a landscape, even though they do eliminate the fungus on individual branches or trees. The uneven terrain over the landscape makes application difficult and the timing of bud break is extended. (Bud break is the time when fungicide must be applied.) On a Christmas tree farm, all trees are at the same stage at the same time, and bud break occurs fairly simultaneously. For this reason, fungicide has so far been effective in that industry. However, spraying fungicide near riparian areas is environmentally unacceptable.

One alternative to the fungicide in current use is thinning the trees, to space them for vigor and health. The cooperative is establishing new experimental plots, on which they know the conditions of infection and basal area before thinning. The study is in only its second year; to get reliable information will take 5-10 years.

In addition to the work on new plots, the cooperative will do some retrospective work on existing thinned plots. The same people will work on both the retrospective studies and the new; by working as continuing teams, they ensure that all are on the same research path and not duplicating effort.

Recognizing the worsening problem of Swiss needle cast, and concerned about their limited options for fighting the disease, representatives of private industry decided that cooperative research was needed. Therefore industry representatives came to the College of Forestry and suggested development of a research cooperative to study the problem of Swiss needle cast.

The Swiss Needle Cast Cooperative started formally in January 1997, and research is expected to last for 5 years. After 5 years, the cooperators can decide whether it is necessary to extend the cooperative's efforts further. The cooperative currently includes 20 members, mostly from private industry. Among them, they represent all the major forest owners on the coast. In addition to private companies and state and federal land managing agencies, the Grande Ronde and Siletz tribes and Coos County are members.

Scientists are working together with industry representatives who have helped set up plots and given other assistance. The narrow focus of the project helps in the effort, because it is easier to make plans. In the future, researchers will look at fungicides not currently in use for this problem, in case they could overcome some of the problems of the current fungicide, at least in some situations, and allow a simpler, faster solution.

Research is led by faculty from the College of Forestry (in Forest Science, Forest Resources, and Forest Products) and from the College of Science (in the Botany and Plant Pathology Department). A faculty member from Washington State University, whose experience is working with Christmas trees, is doing research for the cooperative, and about six graduate students are also involved.

Much of the work is done by the graduate students. Industry recognizes the cooperative as a good buy, because of time and energy that the graduate students give the projects. The graduate students benefit as well, getting real-world experience unmatched in the ivory tower.