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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021

A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains

Tudoran, Amelia; Nordlander, Goran; Karlberg, Anna; Puentes, Adriana

Abstract

BACKGROUND The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) is a major forest regeneration pest causing high levels of seedling mortality and economic losses. Current management relies on silviculture, stem coatings and insecticides. Here we evaluated for the first time the effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains on H. abietis adults: two producing the Coleoptera-targeted toxins Cry3Aa (Bt tenebrionis NB-176) and Cry8Da (Bt galleriae SDS-502), and one producing the Diptera-targeted Cry10A (Bt israelensis AM65-52). Choice and nonchoice assays using individual and mixtures of Bt formulations, containing these strains respectively, were conducted.RESULTS We found that Bt had toxic and lethal effects on H. abietis, but effects varied with strain and formulation concentration. The Diptera-targeted Bt israelensis had the most negative effects on weevil weight, feeding and mortality (70-82% feeding reduction, 65-82% greater mortality than control), whereas the effect was lower for the Coleoptera-specific Bt tenebrionis (38-42%; 37-42%) and Bt galleriae (11-30%; 15-32%). Reduced weevil feeding was observed after 3 days, and the highest mortality occurred 7-14 days following Bt exposure. However, we found no synergistic toxic effects, and no formulation combination was better than Bt israelensis alone at reducing consumption and survival. Also, pine weevils were not deterred by Bt, feeding equally on Bt-treated and non-Bt treated food.CONCLUSION There is potential to develop forest pest management measures against H. abietis that include Bt, but only the Diptera-targeted Bt israelensis would provide effective seedling protection. Its Diptera-specificity may need reconsideration, and evaluation of other Bt strains/toxins against H. abietis would be of interest.

Keywords

biopesticides; forest pest; forest regeneration; insecticidal toxins; pest management; plant protection

Published in

Pest Management Science
2021, volume: 77, number: 3, pages: 1303-1315
Publisher: JOHN WILEY AND SONS LTD

Authors' information

Tudoran, Amelia (Amelia, Tudoran)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
Tudoran, Amelia (Amelia, Tudoran)
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology
Karlberg, Anna
SweTree Technol AB
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Ecology

Associated SLU-program

SLU Network Plant Protection

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science

Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6144

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/109024