Assessing the impact of Dryocosmus kuriphilus on the chestnut tree: branch architecture matters

Abstract

Dryocosmus kuriphilus has become a major issue for chestnut (Castanea sativa) cultivation since its introduction in Europe. Thus far, however, quantitative assessments of the impact of D. kuriphilus in terms of green biomass loss are lacking. In the present study, we used the leaf area to sapwood area relationship (AL:AS)—based on the pipe model approach as a green biomass indicator—to quantitatively estimate the damage to chestnut trees caused by D. kuriphilus attacks and its recovery when the pest is controlled by Torymus sinensis in the chestnut stands of southern Switzerland. Leaf area loss is used as a response variable to select the most suitable explanatory architectural features at branch level to be combined in a damage index that permits a realistic assessment covering the entire epidemic. In our case study, the peak of the epidemic was reached in the fourth year of repeated D. kuriphilus attacks (leaf area losses exceeding 70%) with significant alterations in branch architecture. Although damage symptoms first decreased once biological control was reached (fifth year), branch architecture recovery was still lacking. From a methodological point of view, our AL:AS approach highlights how traditional methods of assessing the degree of infestation (i.e. proportion of attacked buds) fail to give sound estimations of resulting damage, whereas the proposed composite damage index enables a more realistic assessment of the entire epidemic process, including the recovery phase when the gall wasp is biologically controlled.