Insect pest management in Australian radiata pine plantations

Abstract

Summary Australian plantations of introduced Pinus radiata (ca 432,000 ha) have generally been free from significant insect damage, though many indigenous defoliators and some wood borers have adapted to pine, and several introduced bark or wood borers have become established. Among the latter only the bark beetle Ips grandicollis in South and Western Australia, and the wood wasp Sirex noctilio in Tasmania and Victoria, have caused deaths in generally unthrifty stands, particularly those droughted or variously damaged. The essential elements of the pest management strategy include: strict quarantine at ports of entry and between States; an effective diagnostic service by Commonwealth and State agencies; preventative control through tree improvement programs, stand hygiene, timely selective thinning and fire prevention; routine plantation surveillance by local foresters throughout the year, supplemented by specialist ground or aerial pest monitoring surveys, or both; physical, biological and occasional chemical curative control; research into all aspects of pest management; and finally, education through government and tertiary institutions.