%0 Research note
%T Short-needle disease of Scots pine: an abnormal needle length distribution
%A Kurkela, Timo
%A Nuorteva, Heikki
%D 1998
%J Silva Fennica
%V 32
%N 1
%R doi:10.14214/sf.702
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/702
%X Short-needle syndrome occurs commonly in southern Finland. The disease  is characterized by abnormal length distribution of the needles in  shoots. In most cases, affected shoots have needles of normal length as  well as very short needles. The short needles are those injured during  the needle elongation period; the tissues formed abnormal  sclerenchymatic structures and wound periderm. One possible cause could  be hemipterous insects feeding on growing needles. Salivary sheaths of  such insects were often present in both deformed needle bases and  undeformed mature tissues.