Susceptibility of parent and interspecific F1 hybrid pine trees to tip moth damage in a coastal North Carolina planting

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Tip moth damage among families of parent pine species and their interspecific F1 hybrids was quantitatively assessed in a coastal planting in North Carolina. Three slash pine (Pinus elliotti var. elliotti Engelm.), two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), and four interspecific F1 hybrid pine families were used. The F1 hybrids were as susceptible to damage by Nantucket pine tip moth (Rhyacionia frustrana (Comst.)), as was their susceptible loblolly pine parent. Their phenotypes support a dominant or partially dominant mode of inheritance for susceptibility. The phenotype of one slash pine family was not statistically different from the phenotypes of the loblolly and F1 hybrid pines. The high susceptibility of that one slash pine family appeared to be intrinsic, even though slash pine is considered resistant to tip moth damage. Tip moth damage on the two other slash pine families was significantly lower.