pest management for pine trees - west texas urban forestry council

Texas Forest Service

Pest Management

for Pine Trees

Oscar Mestas, Don Grosman and

Bill Upton.

Texas Forest Service,

Forest Pest Management

Lufkin, Texas

Ph: 936-639-8170;

Email: [email protected],

[email protected],

[email protected]

In the spring of 2008, Pinus

eldarica (Afghan pine) trees

in El Paso, TX were found to

be dying.

Surveys revealed Afghan pines were found to be dying

in several communities in west Texas and southern

New Mexico.

External evidence of

chalcid attacks on

branches of Afghan

pine. Notice the

“donuts” (left) and

“bumpy” bark (above).

Small pits containing insect

larvae were found under the bark

of dying branches.

A reference to similar damage was

found in Western Forest Insects

(Furniss and Carolin) and an adult was

collected by Mr. Mestas. It is believed

to be a tiny chalcid wasp, probably

Eurytoma species, family Eurytomidae.


Control Trial

Fifteen trees were selected in El Paso and ten in Midland.

Five trees were treated in El Paso with a Merit®

(imidacloprid) soil injection in late December 2008.

In early April 2009, five trees each (El Paso and Midland)

were injected with emamectin benzoate

(0.16g AI/cm DBH) using Arborjet’s

Tree IV (below right).

Five trees were selected at each site

and monitored as untreated controls.

Emamectin Benzoate

(TREE-äge)

Developed from avermectin, a product of a

naturally occurring soil-born bacteria,

Streptomyces avermitilis. It was discovered in 1984.

Acts on insect nerves to suppress muscle contraction,

resulting in insect paralysis and death.

After injection into a tree, emamectin benzoate appears to

be stored in the tree’s sugars and proteins, and released

as the tree uses it’s stored energy. This results in

extended tree protection (3 or more years).

Texas Forest ServiceEmergence ‘08 Live Larvae ‘09

A branch was collected from the lower, middle and upper

crown of each study tree. The bark was pealed from 30 cm of

each branch and live larvae and last years emergence was

tallied.


Occurrence of Chalcid Wasp on Untreated Afghan Pine Based on Crown Level, El Paso & Midland, TX: 2009

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Pre- and Post-Treatment Occurrence of Chalcid Wasp on Afghan Pine Branches, El Paso, TX: 2009 & 2010


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Pre- and Post-Treatment Occurrence of Chalcid Wasp on Afghan Pine Branches, Midland, TX: 2009


Skyline Park Comparison tag#1 Check (untreated)

April 2009 September 2010


Skyline Park Comparison tag#13 Imidacloprid



Skyline Park Comparison tag#8 Emamectin Benzoate



Relative Condition of Afghan Pine Before and 18 Months After Treatment, El Paso, TX

Acknowledgements

W. Upton and B. Kavanagh provided field and lab

assistance.

J. Pase (TFS) provided SBB emergence data.

S. Calhoun (Skyline Park, El Paso), R. Myers (City of

Midland), T. French (private landowner), D. Moore (City of

Allen) and C. Krajca (City of Mesquite) provided study

trees.

This research was supported, in part, by the

Forest Pest Management Cooperative and USFS-FHP R-8

Invasive Species grant, as well as equipment and product

from Arborjet, Inc. and Syngenta Crop Protection.

PINE ENGRAVER BEETLES

Ips avulsus

Ips grandicollis

Ips calligraphus

Here is what to look for . . . .

Engraver beetles are small and difficult to

identify. The rear end of adults has spines

and is “scooped out.”

Ips Activity Is Often Associated

with Lightening Strikes

Pitch tubes often form

on the bark of a pine

tree where Ips engraver

beetles have attacked

the tree. Attacks tend to

be on the bark plates

rather than in the bark

crevices.

Close-up picture of an

Ips pitch tube on the

bark of a pine tree

(note the color).

Pitch tube photos by Donna Work; all other photos by H. A. (Joe) Pase

Reddish boring dust that collects in bark crevices and at the

base of a pine tree indicates attack by pine engraver beetles.

Engraver beetles tend to select stressed or weakened trees

to attack, which results in scattered tree mortality. Notice

that other adjacent pine trees have not been attacked.

A female beetle lays her eggs along

one side of the vertical egg gallery.

Ips egg galleries typically are kept

free of “sawdust.”

Galleries made by Ips larvae extend

away from the egg gallery and

increase in width as the larvae

grow in size. Ips larval galleries

typically are packed with

“sawdust.”

Vertical egg galleries made by adult Ips beetles are a

constant width because adult beetles never grow any larger.

Typical I-shaped egg galleries made by adult small southern pine

engraver (Ips avulsus) beetles. The circular areas in the bark

are where the larvae pupated before emerging as adult beetles.

• 1. Do nothing

• 2. Cut and remove infested trees

• 3. Chemical control is seldom effective

• 4. Cut-and-leave control is NOT effective

• 5. Maintain healthy stands (prevention)

Control options for pine engraver beetles?

Single Tree Protection

“Standard Method”: Spray entire bole with a hydraulic sprayer. Large trees (>30 ft) may require the use of a bucket truck.

Few Products Available: Carbaryl (Sevin®), permethrin (Astro® & Permethrin Pro®) and bifenthrin (Onyx®). Onyx® most effective, but hard to come by. Permethrin OK. Sevin® reported to be ineffective against southern pine bark beetles.

Few Companies Apply: Called 10 companies in Lufkin area; only two will spray for bark beetles (one will only treat for BTB & I’m skeptical about the second)


Hydraulic sprays can only reach to a height of ~30 feet. For largertrees, the need for a bucket truck increase cost considerably.


Even with a light breeze, pesticide can easily drift off target.

Effects of Emamectin Benzoate on Ips

Colonization 1 Month After Injection

Check EB @ 1 month

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Treatments / Time After Injection

With Brood

Without Brood

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Effects of EB injection treatments on Ips galleries length

and brood development in loblolly pine logs: 2005 - 2007

TREE-äge Proposed Pest Targets

Pine Wood Nematode

Lepidoptera

Pine Coneworm

Western Spruce

Budworm

Winter Moth

Bagworm

Fall Webworm

Gypsy Moth

Tent Caterpillars

Clearwing Borers

Leaf Miners

Oakworm Caterpillar

Hymenoptera

Erythrina Gall Wasp

Sawfly

Coleoptera

Emerald Ash Borer

Bronze Birch Borer

Two Lined Chestnut Borer

Longhorn Borers

Bark Beetles (Scolytids)

White Pine Weevil

Mites

Mites – Eur., Spruce, 2 spotted

Eryiophid Mites

Pine Tip Moth(Nantucket pine tip moth)

(Rhyacionia frustrana)

• The larvae feed in the growing tips of young pines

• Five generations per year in the deep South

• Control is usually not economically feasible

• On intensively-managed sites, treatment may be warranted

• Fond of Virginia pine

• Permethrin, Mimic, and Orthene are used for control

• Once trees reach a height of eight to ten feet, tip moths usually are not a problem

Pine Tip Moth

Pine tip moth attacks (larvae) exhibit

webbing and pitch at or near the growing tip.

Pine tip moth damage to a

young tree (left) and a

plantation (below).

Tip moth larvae pupate

in the infested tip.

Spray applications before each of 3 – 5 generations can be

effective for reducing growth losses but they are difficult to

time properly and not economical for large tracts.

SilvaShield™ Forestry Tablets (imidacloprid +

fertilizer) was registered in 2006.

It can be dropped into the plant hole during

planting or pushed into the soil next to the

seedling after planting.

Tablet can protect seedling for 18 – 24 months.

P37

PTM™ (fipronil) was registered in 2007.

Its applied as a soil injection treatment during

or after planting.

It can protect seedlings for 2 – 3 years.

PTM Spot

Gun

Kioritz Fitted Machine Planter

Effect of fipronil in-furrow and plant hole treatments on

tip moth infestation – TR#1, 3 WG sites: 2004 - 2006

*, a or

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Questions?

Thank you

for your

attention!

pest management for pine trees - west texas urban forestry council

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