Delivering Sitka spruce with resistance against white pine weevil in British Columbia, Canada

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (02) ◽  
pp. 235-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
René I. Alfaro ◽  
John N. King ◽  
Lara vanAkker
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Screening Method ◽  
Resistance Breeding ◽  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Breeding Program ◽  
Plantation Forest ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
White Pine Weevil

The Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis [Bong.] Carr) breeding program for resistance against the white pine weevil Pissodes strobi Peck (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is arguably one of the most successful pest resistance breeding programs for plantation forest species in North America, with a substantial proportion of the planting stock in BC and Washington State currently coming from this breeding program. Using conventional selection and breeding, and by screening Sitka spruce populations using artificial weevil infestations, we identified sources of heritable and stable weevil resistance. We also used this program to investigate potential causes behind this resistance and identified several heritable resistance mechanisms, including anatomical characteristics, such as constitutive resin canals and sclereid cells in the bark, terpene defenses and variation in tree phenology. We concluded that resistance is conferred by a suite of traits whose composition varies among resistant sources. In addition, we evaluated the efficiency of screening for resistance using weevil population enhancement as a screening method. Our results culminated in the establishment of seed orchards, and the availability of resistant seed that is contributing to the return of Sitka spruce as a species of choice in coastal British Columbia.

Relationship between cortical resin acids and resistance of Sitka spruce to the white pine weevil

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 599-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Tomlin ◽  
John H. Borden ◽  
Harold D. Pierce Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Resin Acid ◽  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Canonical Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Resin Acids ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pissodes Strobi ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
White Pine Weevil

Cortical resin acids were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively among 10 provenances and 11 genotypes of Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis Bong (Carr.), putatively resistant to the white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi (Peck), and compared with susceptible trees. Trees in 5 of the 11 resistant genotypes had significantly greater amounts of cortical resin acid than susceptible trees. Of seven individual acids analyzed, pimaric, isopimaric, levopimaric, dehydroabietic, abietic, and neoabietic acid, but not palustric acid, were found in significantly greater amounts in trees from resistant than susceptible provenances. Eighteen percent of the variation in resin acid content could be accounted for by variation in the capacity of cortical resin ducts, indicating that the other 82% of variation is a result of differences in resin acid concentration in the resin. Trees with very high resin acid levels may have a greater capacity for resinosis than susceptible trees, may deter feeding, or may produce resin that is toxic to eggs and larvae. Canonical discriminant analysis revealed that several resistant clones, particularly two from the Kitwanga provenance, could be distinguished from others on the basis of their resin acid profiles. Because it separated trees on the basis of genotype, but not according to degree of resistance, canonical discriminant analysis may be more useful in "chemotyping" trees than in screening for resistance. Keywords: Picea, cortex, resin acids, Pissodes strobi, resistance.

PREDATION BY LONCHAEA CORTICIS (DIPTERA: LONCHAEIDAE) ON THE WHITE PINE WEEVIL, PISSODES STROBI (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE)

1980 ◽  
Vol 112 (12) ◽  
pp. 1259-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. I. Alfaro ◽  
J. H. Borden
Keyword(s):  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Predatory Behavior ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Granary Weevil ◽  
Pissodes Strobi ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
Temporal Sampling ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
White Pine Weevil

AbstractThe predatory behavior of Lonchaea corticis Taylor on the white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi Peck, in Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr., was studied by temporal sampling and dissection of terminal leaders, and by laboratory experiments. L. corticis oviposition occurred when mining P. strobi larvae were consolidating the feeding ring, an event that segregates the weevil larvae into healthy front-feeders and weak, starving "followers." The number of L. corticis within a Sitka spruce terminal was highly correlated with the number of weak and dying P. strobi larvae, but not with healthy larvae.L. corticis larvae experimentally deprived of dead P. strobi larvae, behaved as an effective predator, consuming both weak P. strobi larvae and healthy pupae, but apparently not healthy larvae. The transition of L. corticis from second to third instar appeared to occur only after sufficient weevils had been consumed. When an excess of prey was present, L. corticis larvae consumed a mean of 2.9 P. strobi pupae over their entire life cycle. In choice experiments, L. corticis larvae searched for and located mining P. strobi larvae, and fed preferentially on P. strobi pupae rather than granary weevil pupae, Sitophilus granarius L. Under certain circumstances, L. corticis could be an important regulatory agent of P. strobi populations.

Control of white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi, on Sitka spruce using implants containing systemic insecticide

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Fraser ◽  
D. G. Heppner
Keyword(s):  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Systemic Insecticide ◽  
Treatment Combination ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pissodes Strobi ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Alternative Delivery ◽  
White Pine Weevil

Young Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr., trees in three stands were treated with either Gelcaps® containing oxydemeton-methyl or Acecaps® containing acephate to test their effectiveness in protecting trees from white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi (Peck) attack. All treatments were applied in late March 1989. Weevil attack was recorded in early September 1989, 1990 and 1991. Attack was significantly reduced (P < 0.01) in all but one stand/treatment combination in 1989. Gelcaps provided significant protection (P < 0.01) in two of three stands after two years. Stem implants containing systemic insecticide can protect young Sitka spruce from weevil attack. Alternative delivery systems, such as the Ezect® lance, should be evaluated as they may improve the speed and lower the cost of operational treatments. Keywords: acephate, oxydemeton-methyl, stem implants, systemic insecticides, white pine weevil

PINE OIL, A FEEDING DETERRENT FOR THE WHITE PINE WEEVIL, PISSODES STROBI (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE)

1984 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. I. Alfaro ◽  
J. H. Borden ◽  
L. J. Harris ◽  
W. W. Nijholt ◽  
L. H. McMullen
Keyword(s):  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Feeding Deterrent ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pissodes Strobi ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
Pine Oil ◽  
Feeding Bioassay ◽  
White Pine Weevil

AbstractPine oil effectively reduced feeding by the white pine weevil, Pissodes strobi Peck, in a laboratory feeding bioassay utilizing agar discs containing dry, powdered bark of its host Sitka spruce, Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr. Possible utilization of pine oil under field conditions is discussed.

An integrated genomic, proteomic and biochemical analysis of (+)-3-carene biosynthesis in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) genotypes that are resistant or susceptible to white pine weevil

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 936-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn E. Hall ◽  
Jeanne A. Robert ◽  
Christopher I. Keeling ◽  
Dominik Domanski ◽  
Alfonso Lara Quesada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biochemical Analysis ◽  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Picea Sitchensis ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
White Pine Weevil

Terpenoid metabolite profiling in Sitka spruce identifies association of dehydroabietic acid, (+)-3-carene, and terpinolene with resistance against white pine weevil

Botany ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (9) ◽  
pp. 810-820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne A. Robert ◽  
Lufiani L. Madilao ◽  
Rick White ◽  
Alvin Yanchuk ◽  
John King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Metabolite Profiling ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Sitka Spruce ◽  
Dehydroabietic Acid ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Tree Form ◽  
Pine Weevil ◽  
White Pine Weevil

The white pine weevil ( Pissodes strobi Peck) is an important insect pest in the Pacific Northwest that attacks the apical stem leaders of spruce ( Picea spp.) causing damage to tree form, growth, and stand development. Because of attacks by weevils, Sitka spruce ( P. sitchensis Bong.) is not commonly replanted as a commercial species in coastal British Columbia, despite its economic and ecological importance. In the last decade, the focus of research on Sitka spruce resistance against weevils has moved from silvicultural approaches to breeding for resistance. The British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range, in collaboration with the Canadian Forest Service, has developed a successful program to screen populations and select tree genotypes for resistance to weevil attack. Part of this effort has been the establishment of clonebanks that contain genotypes from throughout the range of Sitka spruce. For metabolite profiling, using gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection or mass spectrometry, we analysed 111 different genotypes to determine the relationship of mono- and di-terpenoid oleoresin compounds with the resistance rating. Dehydroabietic acid, a diterpene, was identified as a strong indicator of resistance. Two monoterpenes, (+)-3-carene and terpinolene, were also associated with resistance in genotypes originating from one of the areas (Haney) in which resistance has been noted.

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