Abstract
A field experiment was conducted in 1984 and 1985 to evaluate the effects of four weed control practices on white grub densities and feeding damage to roots of young Fraser fir, Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir., Christmas trees. Variations in wood volume and health were also evaluated. The white grub complex consisted primarily of three species: Phyllophaga anxia (LeConte) Glasgow, Phyllophaga fusca (Froelich) Glasgow, and Polyphylla comes Casey. Cultivation practices were: entire-plot herbicide, not mowed; 0.6-m-wide herbicide-treated strip in tree rows only, mowed; sod, mowed, no herbicide; and sod, not mowed, no herbicide. Mowed sod plots supported the densest grub populations ( x = 44.3 grubs per m2) and contained trees with the most severe root damage, lowest wood volume, and poorest health. Plots treated entirely and in strips with herbicide contained the healthiest, least damaged trees with the highest wood volumes, while supporting mean grub densities of 13.9 and 21.9 grubs per m2, respectively. Grubs in herbicide-strip plots were usually found in the mowed, grassy areas. Plots that were not mowed supported a mean density of 18.5 grubs per m2, and contained trees with moderate to heavy root damage.
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