More seed from existing Norway spruce seed orchards? NordGen 5.-6.9.2012 Tiina Ylioja Finnish Forest Research Institute Metla Picea abies seed orchards in Finland • 1st generation seed orchards, 1964-1972 • 1st generation seed orchards 1994, 1997 • new established starting from 2002 – graft seed orchards 1.5 generation – seedling seed orchards (plustree selection in 1990 – 2003) Picea abies seeds 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 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 collection • History: establishment of first spruce seed orchards – forest sites and 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 What could be done? • Weather cannot be manipulated • Uneven flowering: perhaps gibberellin injections could not only increase the crop but also help to synchronize flowering of clones, fertilizing during or after flowering • History: establishment of first spruce seed orchards – thinnings, cutting of tops – sites cannot be changed • Insect and fungal damage to cone crops – Integrated pest management • Optimizing the cone collection and seed extraction so that minimum number of seeds are lost and no loss in germination potential (including pre-treatments of seed in the nurseries) Damage Infection (fungi) and infestation (insects) start already during flowering Pathogens: cherry-spruce rust, Thekopsora areolata spruce cone rust, Chrysomyxa pirolata Insects: spruce cone worm, Dioryctria abietella spruce seed moth, Cydia strobilella spruce cone looper, Eupithecia abietaria spruce seed chalcid, Megastigmus strobilobius spruce cone maggot, Strobilomyia anthracina etc. Not a new problem! Rummukainen, U. 1960. Abundance and quality of seed damage in spruce: ”1890: Cecidomyia strobi destroys northern spruce cones” ”1900: fungi and insect ruined the otherwise good cone crop” ”1925: plenty of cones, but destroyed by insects” AND SO ON… Insecticides? • Turex WP 50 (Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai x kurstaki ) registrated in Sweden for seed orchards (not in Finland) – Weslien (1999) Scand. J. For. Res. – Rosenberg & Weslien (2005) J. Econ. Entomol. – biological + ”environmentally friendly” – lower cone worm (Dioryctria) and cone looper (Eupithecia) damage: right timing, during flowering Turex WP 50 spraying Seed orchard 112 Seed orchard 113 20 24 16 20 16 12 12 8 8 4 4 Percentage of cones of Percentage Percentage of cones of Percentage 0 0 Dioryctria And Eupithecia Cydia strobilella Dioryctria And Eupithecia Cydia strobilella Unsprayed 1xTurex Unsprayed 2xTurex Dioryctria Cydia Dioryctria Cydia • no replication! • Low infestation levels Photo: Sakari Pönniö Infestation levels: 2006 2-20% Strobilomyia 2-42% Cydia 5-25% Dioryctria 2007 0-71% Strobilomyia 40-90% Cydia 23-57% Dioryctria Other promising insectisides • Fastac (alpha-cypermethrin ): Dioryctria abietella, Strobilomyia anthracina (Rosenberg et al., unpubl.) Stem injections gibberellin + insecticide • Rosenberg et al. (2012) J Econ Entomol • bifenthrin, deltamethrin ja imidacloprid were ineffective • abamectin effective: also when applied year prior flowering! – Dioryctria and Eupithecia damage decreased – No effect on Megastigmus seed chalcid (X-rays) Pesticide solution • Many species targeted simultaneously • In experiments there are no control effects… • … or the effects are too small • laboursome experiments • experiments cannot be carried out in the laboratory (demand for cone development) • small scale experiments needed before the practical scale experiments (e.g. need for many treatments, risk of phytotoxicity) Legislation in Finland • Laki kasvinsuojeluaineista 1563 voimaan 1.1.2012: – 5 vuoden välein levitysvälineiden testaus • §6 Kasvinsuojeluaineita on käytettävä asianmukaisesti havaitun tarpeen mukaan ja käyttöohjeita noudattaen. Jos kasvinsuojeluaineita käytetään ammattimaisesti, myös integroidun torjunnan yleisiä periaatteita on noudatettava. 1.1.2014 alkaen. Demand for integrated pest management when pesticides are in professional use Euroopan parlamentin ja neuvoston direktiivi 2009/128/EY liite III: 2) haitallisia organismeja seurattava, jos mahdollisuus pest monitoring 3) ammattimaisen käyttäjän on seurannan tulosten perusteella päätettävä toteutetaanko kasvinsuojelutoimenpiteitä vai ei ja milloin. Selkeät ja tieteellisesti perustellut kynnysarvot! treshold values for control 4) kestävät, luonnonmukaiset, fysikaaliset ja muut kuin kemialliset menetelmät asettava etusijalle, jos niillä voidaan torjua tyydyttävästi. chemical methods avoided if other means are available for control Legislation in Finland • 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 Bilaga III till Europaparlamentets och rådets direktiv 2009/128/EG 2) Skadliga organismer ska övervakas med hjälp av lämpliga metoder och verktyg, där sådana finns att tillgå. Sådana lämpliga verktyg bör omfatta fältobservationer och vetenskapligt underbyggda system för varning, prognos och tidig diagnos, där så är möjligt, samt rådgivning av professionella rådgivare. pest monitoring 3) Yrkesmässiga användare ska utifrån resultaten av övervakningen fatta beslut om huruvida och när växtskyddsåtgärder ska vidtas. Tillförlitliga och vetenskapligt välunderbyggda tröskelvärden är väsentliga för beslutsfattandet. Innan någon behandling inleds ska när så är möjligt hänsyn tas till vilka tröskelvärden för skadliga organismer som fastställts för regionen, de särskilda områdena, grödorna och de särskilda klimatförhållandena.treshold values for control 4) Hållbara biologiska, fysiska och andra icke-kemiska metoder ska ges företräde framför kemiska metoder om de leder till tillfredsställande bekämpning av skadegörare och ogräs. chemical methods avoided if other means are available for control Practical challenge - even with effective insecticides • If the time window for spraying is narrow and spatially overlapping among seed orchards: simultaneously spraying at different seed orchards, demand for staff and equipment • rough terrain not good for targeting spraying • aerial spraying not allowed (special permission) • injections are laboursome (but perhaps the best option) Towards IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Cone worm Dioryctria Seed moth Cydia Sakari Pönniö Pekka Helenius • Tresholds for control: pheromone monitoring • Connection among flying period, degree days and flowering phase • NCSI Nordic Cone and Seed Insects funded by SNS Synthetic pheromones • Pheromone for spruce cone worm (Dioryctria abietella) – Löfstedt et al.(2012) J. Appl Entomol • Pheromone for spruce seed moth (Cydia strobilella) – Wang et al. (2010) J Chem Ecol • North-American spruce seed moth different species from European Cydia strobilella (testing in seed orchard 403 Suhola, Joroinen) – Svensson et al. (submitted) Systematic Entomology Spruce cone worm Photo: Sakari Pönniö Nordic pheromone testing • 1 trap per ha, 3 – 5 traps per orchard, at 1.5 m Cone crop survey Damage survey Trap height: 1.5 m, 9 m and 14 m ”TALL” ”SHORT” Trap height testing: preliminary results • Spruce cone worm (Dioryctria abietella) flies higher than spruce seed moth (Cydia strobilella) • None of the two species prefer to fly above canopies • Female calling behaviour? Future in control: mating distruption with synthetic pheromones? Conclusions • Hopefully more seed in the future as research progresses – good luck with weather and mismatch with the insect population dynamics • newly established seed orchards need to be managed so that control sprayings are possible to conduct easily and efficiently • seed orchard managers need training with pesticides, their use and obligations including IPM • gibberellin + abamectin + Turex WP 50: registered in Finland for the future • IPM: tresholds for control, monitoring methods, alternative control methods .