Insect damage in Norway spruce (Picea abies L. (Karst.)) seed orchards: introduction to solutions Tiina Ylioja Finnish Forest Research Institute - Metla Spruce seed orchards in Finland • 120 hectares • 1st generation seed orchards, 1964-1972 (24) • 1st generation seed orchards 1994, 1997 (2) • new established starting from 2002 – graft seed orchards 1.5 generation – seedling seed orchards (plustree selection in 1990 – 2003) Spruce: why the lack of SO seed? • flowering pattern of spruce: cone years (masting), weather (Pukkala ym. 2010) • Uneven flowering: clones flower during different years -> low flowering in orchard: cost of collecting cones too high • In history emphasis was on pine: spruce seed orchards – forest sites and former agricultural sites not designed for machine work and orchards ”not managed intensively” • Insect and fungal damage to cone crops • Cone collection and handling procedures (timing, storage, seed extraction etc. ). Seed germination in the nurseries. Damaged cones in spruce seed orchards 100 80 1989 60 40 20 0 100 80 1995 60 40 20 0 % cones 100 80 2000 60 40 20 0 40 73 401 109 110 111 112 113 169 171 172 175 176 179 235 366 Savonen, E-M & Seed Orchard Nikkanen T (unpublished) Insect Cone Rust Both Use of spruce seed (kg) in forest nurseries Forest nurseries stand seed orchard 1600 62% 1400 32% 1200 77% 17% 1000 800 600 seed [kg] seed 400 200 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Year www.evira.fi Pathogens: cone rusts cherry-spruce rust, Thekopsora areolata spruce cone rust, Chrysomyxa pirolata Spruce cone worm , Dioryctria abietella • Feeds on cone tissue (seeds) • Lay eggs on the growing cones in summer • Larva can move from one cone to other • Not a cone specialist: during years when no cones feeds on conifer shoots • No extended diapause • Larvae leave the cones late in the autumn Tiina Ylioja Cone loopers, Eupitechia sp • Eupithecia abietaria, Cloaked Pug • Eupithecia analoga: less common • Damage difficult to separate from damage caused by Dioryctria abietella. • Larva easy to tell apart from Dioryctria larva: no. of abdominal feet • Larvae leave the cones late summer/early autumn Spruce seed moth, Cydia strobilella • Lays eggs during flowering • Small larvae feed inside the seeds • Cones appear healthy from outside: larvae feeds on seeds, later they move to cone axis and overwinter in the cones Erkki Oksanen • When no. of larvae high per cone it impacts negatively both seed development and cones: cones may dry prematurely. • Extended diapause: 2-4 years Seeds damaged by Cydia strobilella No. of seeds % of seeds No. of seeds No. of seeds No. of % of seeds damaged by damage by per cone damaged larvae damaged one larva one larva 297 81 5 27 16 5 264 56 2 21 28 11 242 45 3 19 15 6 22 20 7 Spruce cone maggot, Strobilomyia anthracina • Lay eggs on flowers Erkki Oksanen • Feeds on seeds • Exits in June or later in summer summer (rainy days) • Resin ball – very res Seed insects • Gall midge Plemeliella abietina – Yellow/orange larva – Lay eggs during flowering – Larvae die during seed extraction process X-rays: – Weight sorting of seeds removes them Metla, seed laboratory • Seed chalcid Megastigmus strobilobius – White – Lays eggs on developing cones – Seed membrane visible in x-ray – Soaking treatment sorts them out Legislation in Finland: IPM • Lag om växtskyddsmedel 29.12.2011/1563 • §6 Växtskyddsmedel ska användas på ett korrekt sätt i enlighet med det konstaterade behovet och med iakttagande av bruksanvisningarna. Vid yrkesmässig användning av växtskyddsmedel ska även de allmänna principerna för integrerat växtskydd iakttas. Tillämpas från och med den 1 januari 2014. Demand for integrated pest management when pesticides are in professional use Annex III to Directive 2009/128/EC action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides 2. Harmful organisms must be monitored by adequate methods and tools, where available. Such adequate tools should include observations in the field as well as scientifically sound warning, forecasting and early diagnosis systems, where feasible, as well as the use of advice from professionally qualified advisors. pest monitoring 3. Based on the results of the monitoring the professional user has to decide whether and when to apply plant protection measures. Robust and scientifically sound threshold values are essential components for decision making. For harmful organisms threshold levels defined for the region, specific areas, crops and particular climatic conditions must be taken into account before treatments, where feasible. treshold values for control 4. Sustainable biological, physical and other non-chemical methods must be preferred to chemical methods if they provide satisfactory pest control. chemical methods avoided if other means are available for control Insecticide trials (2006 & 2007) Sumi Alpha 5 FW 0.7l/ha %(esfenvalerate) Treatments: sprayed once and sprayed twice Controls: not sprayed, water sprayed Sprayed with tractror attached airblast sprayer No effect on Dioryctria abietella or Cydia strobilella Strobilomyia anthracina population too low for testing (1,4% cones infested) Turex WP 50 (Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai x kurstaki ) Seed orchard 112 Seed orchard 113 20 24 16 20 16 12 12 8 8 4 4 Percentagecones of Percentagecones of 0 0 Dioryctria And Eupithecia Cydia strobilella Dioryctria And Eupithecia Cydia strobilella Unsprayed 1xTurex Unsprayed 2xTurex Dioryctria Cydia Dioryctria Cydia Weslien (1999) Scand. J. For. Res. Rosenberg & Weslien (2005) J. Econ. Entomol. NO REPLICATION, LOW POPULATIONS = NO RESULTS Spraying experiment 2006 • Treatments: no spray, water, Du-Dim 48 SC 0,06% (diflubenzuron 480 g/l), SumiAlpha 5 FW 0,05% (esfenvalerate 50 g/l) 3 branches, with min. 10 female flowers randomized blocks (=clones) • (3 bar) Hardi C-5 - sprayer 13% 47% 40% 25 20 15 10 5 % kävyissä hyönteistuho % infested 0 water not sprayed DuDim 0.06% SumiAlpha 0.05% Spraying experiment 2007 • Treatments: – Control 100 – Water – Vertimec 018 EC 0,12% 80 • Abamectin 18g/l 60 – Conserve SC 0,1% 40 • Spinosad 120g/l kävyistä tutkituista % • Spraying:May 25 + June 11 20 • Individual branches cones found % of larvae Cydia Kontrolli Vesi Vertimec Conserve sprayed Control Water Vertimec Conserve • 20 blocks This ”result” is explained by the differences in the number of • Hardi C-5 packbag sprayer cones per canopy!!! (3bar) Infestation levels in Finland: 2006 2-20% Strobilomyia 2-42% Cydia 5-25% Dioryctria 2007 0-71% Strobilomyia 40-90% Cydia 23-57% Dioryctria Injections: Wedgle Direct Unit Drill-injections: SideWinder Stem injections 2007 • Injection May 21, 2007 • Infestation levels high • 10 blocks (diameter) – Treatments not significant – Decreasing trend • 2 injection devices • No phytotoxic effects on seeds • Wedgle Direct-Inject – 1ml/10cm • Sidewinder 100 – control – 2*5ml 80 , % – 1*10ml 60 – 2*10ml Esiintyminen[%] 40 • GreyhoundTM Dioryctria – Abamectin 2% 20 K W 1ml/10cm S 2*5ml S 1*10ml S 2*10ml Challenges in insecticide testing 1/2 • Targeting multiple insects: – Any single insecticide unlike to work against all the species – interactions among the species unknown e.g. competition for food and habitat among species • Targeting insects that are protected inside the cone: systematic properties • Insecticide treatments are the only controllable factors in the seed orchard: spruce clone, cone abundance • Limited no of treatments: concentration, timing, no. of spraying times etc. Challenges in insecticide testing 2/2 • Often no effects on pest or the effects are minor • Insect ”pressure” sometimes too high, sometimes too low • laboursome experiments (both in the field and in the lab). • experiments cannot be carried out in the laboratory (demand for cone development) • Varying cone crops: could we use gibberellin to induce cone for insecticide experiments? Towards IPM (Integrated Pest Management) • Work by pheromone group in Lund university: – Synthetic female sex pheromones: – Dioryctria abietella Löfstedt et al.(2012) J. Appl Entomol – Cydia strobilella Wang et al. (2010) J Chem Ecol – Eupithecia abietaria – in testing phase • Pheromone monitoring of Dioryctria started in 2007 (2006) and Cydia in 2009 • Connection among flying period, degree days and flowering phase or cone development • As management tool trap captures needed before applying insecticides Pheromone monitoring Photo: Sakari Pönniö Nordic pheromone testing • 1 trap per ha, 3 – 5 traps per orchard Cone crop survey Damage survey males/trap males/trap 2010 trap height test for Dioryctria abietella (4 yrs after cone crop) Total summer trap capture: 14 m: 91 males (9.1 per trap) 1.5 m : 0 males (grafts 17-18 m) Trap height testing • Spruce cone worm (Dioryctria abietella) fly higher than spruce seed moth (Cydia strobilella) with respect to spruce canopy • Males of the two species do not prefer to fly above canopies in seed orchard • Monitoring height will depend on the height of the seed orchard. Conclusions • Insecticides needed. – British Columbia applying for registration soon targeting e.g. Dioryctria abietivorella and Leptoglossus occidentalis • lambda-cyhalotrin ( Matador) • spirotetramate (Movento) • spinetoram (Delegate) ! • More small scale insecticide experiments are needed, where more factors can be controlled and more treatments included simultaneosly • Other control methods need to investigated. E.g. mating disruption, mass trapping based on pheromones. • Monitoring technique needed. Conclusions • good luck with weather and mismatch with the insect population dynamics • tools to predict damage years? • In newly established seed orchards control sprayings are possible to conduct easily and efficiently • seed orchard managers need training considering pesticides, their use and obligations including IPM • Gibberellin flower stimulation + abamectin injection, Bacillus thuringiensis, alpha-cypermetrin (Rosenberg et al.) • Future threat: polyphagous Leptoglossus occidentalis Thank you .