AERIAL APPLICATION OF NUCLEAR POLYHEDROSIS VIRUS AGAINST DOUGLAS-FIR TUSSOCK MOTH, ORGYIA PSEUDOTSUGATA (McDUNNOUGH) (LEPIDOPTERA: LYMANTRIIDAE): I. IMPACT IN THE YEAR OF APPLICATION

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 697-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.S. Otvos ◽  
J.C. Cunningham ◽  
L.M. Friskie

AbstractFour 10-ha plots located in Kamloops Forest District, British Columbia, containing Douglas-fir trees infested with Douglas-fir tussock moth were aerially sprayed with nuclear polyhedrosis virus (Virtuss) in 1982 when most larvae were in the first instar. A dosage of 2.5 × 1011 polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB) per hectare was applied in an emulsifiable oil tank mix to one plot and the same dosage in an aqueous tank mix containing molasses was applied to a second plot. The remaining two plots were treated with dosages of 8.3 × 1010 and 1.6 × 1010 PIB per hectare, respectively, in the oil mix. The treatments were applied with a fixed-wing aircraft fitted with boom and nozzle equipment and calibrated to deliver 9.4 L/ha. A further four plots were selected as checks.Population reduction at 6 weeks post-spray (calculated using a modified Abbott’s formula) was 65% in the plot receiving the lowest dosage and from 87 to 95% in the remaining three plots. Incidence of virus infection, determined microscopically, peaked at 5–6 weeks post-spray with 85–100% of the larvae scored as positive. Levels of naturally occurring virus remained low in the check plots. Adult emergence from the pupae collected in the treated plots ranged from 4 to 19% and from 28 to 43% in the check plots. Reduction in egg-mass density attributed to the treatments was 97% in one plot, 99% in two others, and not determined for the fourth.A virus dosage of 8.3 × 1010 PIB per hectare, which is one-third of the previously recommended dosage, is adequate, and either tank mix is acceptable.

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 707-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.S. Otvos ◽  
J.C. Cunningham ◽  
R.I. Alfaro

AbstractFollowing aerial application of a Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) product called Virtuss on four plots in 1982, observations were made to determine the impact of these treatments in 1983 and 1984. Treated plots as well as buffer zones between and adjoining the treated plots, and three of the four check plots established in 1982, were monitored. The NPV appeared to have spread from the treated plots to adjoining areas in 1982, effectively reducing the Douglas-fir tussock moth population. This observation suggests that a strategy of spraying alternate swaths of Douglas-fir tussock moth infested stands with this viral insecticide may effectively initiate an epizootic that would control the population at a reduced cost.A naturally occurring NPV epizootic decimated the Douglas-fir tussock moth population in the three check plots in 1983, but severe tree mortality occurred in two of these plots with 60 and 62% of sample trees dead in 1984. Light tree mortality was noted in 1984 in two of the four treated plots with 4 and 7% of sample trees killed. It is concluded that the virus treatments in 1982 were successful in preventing tree mortality.


1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 1533-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Shepherd ◽  
I. S. Otvos ◽  
R. J. Chorney ◽  
J. C. Cunningham

AbstractTwo different application methods were tested using a nuclear polyhedrosis virus as a control agent at an early stage in the outbreak cycle of Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough), in south central British Columbia in 1981. The virus, which often leads to the development of an epizootic late in the outbreak cycle, was propagated in whitemarked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma (J. E. Smith). A helicopter fitted with a boom and nozzle was used for treating four plots (total area 19.8 ha) at a dosage of 2.2 × 1011 polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB) in an emitted volume of 11.3 L ha−1. Five to eight weeks after spraying, microscopic examination of live larvae showed that 77 to 100% were infected. In ground-spray applications of two other plots, a modified orchard-type sprayer was used to apply 2.4 × 1010 PIB in a volume of 4.5 L per tree. Microscopic diagnosis of live larvae at 8 weeks post-spray revealed 83 and 85% infection.In autumn 1981, no egg masses could be found in the plots treated earlier that year and no larvae were found on the sample trees in 1982 or 1983. The treatment was effective over a range of initial mean larval densities of 41 to 206 m−2 of foliage. At the same time, populations in nearby untreated areas increased in 1982. Little foliage protection was obtained the year of application due to the lengthy virus incubation period, but the trees recovered quickly when populations disappeared due to the virus epizootic.


1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 1041-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Shepherd ◽  
I. S. Otvos ◽  
R. J. Chorney

AbstractA sequential egg-mass sample system for Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata McDunnough (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), was designed, based on visual scanning of the lower branches of Douglas-fir trees, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco. A branch was removed from each quadrant from the upper, middle and lower crown level, and from the lowest whorl of a total of 59 non-defoliated trees in 10 areas. No consistent trend in egg-mass density per branch could be found between crown levels and no level proved superior as a representative of the tree. Therefore, the lower whorl of branches was selected for survey purposes because of sampling efficiency. Sample stop lines were determined from egg-mass density and variability data collected on 55 sites and subsequent defoliation estimates were related to these densities. The system is designed as an early detection tool to be used only in non-defoliated stands at the incipient stage of an impending outbreak.


1981 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1133-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Sohi ◽  
Jean Percy ◽  
J. C. Cunningham ◽  
B. M. Arif

A multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (MNPV) of the Douglas-fir tussock moth, Orgyia pseudotsugata, propagated in larvae of the white-marked tussock moth, O. leucostigma, was successfully grown in two continuous cell lines developed from minced neonate larvae of O. leucostigma. Polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIBs) appeared in the nuclei of cells within 24 h after inoculation. Cytopathological changes, as revealed by light and electron microscopy, were typical of an MNPV. The virus has been passaged in the cell cultures 55 times. The level of infection during passaging has varied from 15 to 98% of the cells, and the number of PIBs per cell from 10 to 40. The PIBs from the fourth passage of the virus in cell cultures were almost as pathogenic to O. leucostigma larvae as the PIBs produced in larvae.


1989 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.S. Otvos ◽  
J.C. Cunningham ◽  
W.J. Kaupp

AbstractTwo viruses, one a nuclear polyhedrosis virus and the other a granulosis virus, were applied in an attempt to initiate epizootics in populations of western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, on Douglas-fir trees, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, in southeastern British Columbia. Two 172-ha plots were aerially treated in 1982 with 9.0 kg of lyophilized, virus-infected larval powder that was formulated in an emulsifiable oil tank mix and applied at 9.4 L per hectare. Each plot was treated when larval populations were at the peak of the fourth instar. The nuclear polyhedrosis virus was applied at 5.4 × 1011 polyhedral inclusion bodies per hectare and the granulosis virus at 1.7 × 1014 capsules per hectare. Results showed that the granulosis virus treatment caused 34.6% population reduction (Abbott’s formula) and the nuclear polyhedrosis virus 51.8%. Larvae from treated and check plots were reared individually in the laboratory and the incidence of viruses, parasitoids, and successful adult emergence was recorded. Studies m these plots continued in 1983 and 1984. Although vertical transmission of both viruses was evident, their impact on budworm mortality was less than in 1982. Consequently, the epizootics were not sufficiently intense to control the target insect population.


1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 839-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.F. Shepherd ◽  
T.G. Gray ◽  
R.J. Chorney ◽  
G.E. Daterman

AbstractThe numbers of Douglas-fir tussock moths (Orgyia pseudotsugata) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) caught in sticky, delta-shaped pheromone traps baited with different concentrations of synthetic lures were compared with egg-mass densities and subsequent defoliation throughout a population cycle. A lure containing 0.01% pheromone by weight in the form of a 3 × 5-mm polyvinylchloride rod provided more consistent catches than pheromone concentrations of 0.0001, 0.001, 0.1, or 1.0%. Trap saturation occurred when >40 moths per trap were caught. To achieve a standard error of 30%, 6 traps were required at each site. There was a poor correlation between numbers of moths caught and egg-mass density or defoliation estimates in the following generation, but a threshold density was found that provides a warning of an incipient outbreak. Ground surveys for egg masses are recommended to confirm suspected infestations after continuous increases in moth catches for 2 to 3 years or if an average of 25 moths or more per trap has been caught.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document