South African Trials Research Articles

Inter- and Intra- specific Variation in the Susceptibility of Eucalypts to the Snout BeetleGonipterus scutellatus Gyll. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

SYNOPSIS A review of the international status of the eucalyptus snout beetle as a pest of exotic eucalypts highlights the insect's role in restricting species choice for forestry in many countries, especially in southern Africa. Elsewhere, commercially important plantations covering hundreds of thousands of hectares remain at risk. Natural control is not effective in colder areas where some tree species susceptible to the beetle would, in its absence, be prime candidates for planting. Results of trials in Lesotho show, inter alia, that for some eucalypts resistance to the beetle can be correlated with the latitude of tree origin. Recommendations are made for further work to find other natural control agents, to examine South African trials for evidence which may confirm and strengthen the Lesotho findings and to thoroughly investigate the taxonomy of the eucalypts.