UK Forestry, Pesticides and Weevils

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1 UK Forestry, Pesticides and Weevils Thank you October 2015 Andrew Heald Technical Director

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3 International Comparisons Thank you

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5 The Reasons 5

6 So what? By the end of the WW1 UK had run out of timber, and the Forestry Commission was established in 1919 to develop a strategic reserve of timber The start of the reforestation of the UK. UK Now produces 11 Million tonnes of timber per annum Industry worth 2 Billion 's hectares Pre

7 The land Dryfe valley 1,000ha Bought in late 60 s Planted in 1 year Five owners Was poor quality sheep farm Public 7

8 Plantations 1991 First generation productive forest created Older forest on right FC started into second generation How to break up age class and increase diversity Public 8

9 Restructuring 2009 Each owner wants a positive cash flow Average felling coupe in 2014 per forest is 27ha Average yield in tonnes is 390t per hectare. Now more varied age class, with more open space and some broadleaves. Public 9

10 Felling and Harvesting Nominal rotation length 40 years Average volume per hectare m3 Clearcut regime UPM 10

11 Re-planting Usually machine mounding Initial density 2700/ha for conifer Aim is to Hot Plant UPM 11

12 Our Silviculture We planted large areas as first generation forests We have wind limited rotation lengths and silviculture Soils and climate limit species choice This leads to high availability of breeding sites for weevils UPM 12

13 UK Forestry Strategy Forestry and Water Guidelines UKWAS FSC PEFC Regulation Thank you

14 Pesticide use in UK Forestry

15 Weevil Trial Content The Challenge Integrated Pest Management Physical Barriers Wax Physical Barriers Sleeves Biological Control Pesticides Knowledge Thank you

16 Weevil Trial Objective To have a sustainable management solution for Hylobius populations in UK forestry, which are on average 7 times higher than in rest of Europe and Scandinavia. Started in 2013 & ongoing Members of the group include Forestry Commission Tilhill Forestry Scottish Woodlands Coillte DARDNI University of West of Scotland Swansea University Forest Research Maelor Forest Nurseries Certis Europe Bayer Norsk wax Fargro Neemco Sentomol Internal 16

17 Overview The Challenge: To have a sustainable management solution for Hylobius populations in the UK forestry. Short term achievements: Maintain protection via pesticides as alternatives are explored and developed Cypermethrin derogation extended to 2017 Acetamiprid (Gazelle) established as a safer alternative, Immediate term goals: Gazelle has now been added to the FSC Highly Hazardous list Continue trials with pesticides and physical barriers Develop a sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategy. Internal 17

18 Develop and refine an IPM approach which considers the following elements: IPM Strategy Non-chemical methods Prevention Biological control Minimisation of pesticides Utilisation of latest guidance Example Physical barriers - wax coating, paper sleeves Botanicals natural repellents Decision support system MSS for predicting population size Metarhizium, Nematodes lure and kill Regular monitoring of weevil activity Expert advice Confor, Forest Research, Industry Consultants IPM is a knowledge based approach. There is no one fits all solution and takes a long time to develop a complete tool box. Internal 18

19 Current position - Physical Barriers - Wax Who? Developed by Norsk Wax in Scandinavia. 100k trees planted 2014 in UK Findings? Effective only at low weevil populations Wax cracking & exposing the stem Bridging becomes a problem on weedy sites Not currently cost effective in the UK. Future? Adapt formulation to prevent cracking Add botanical repellents to the wax Treatment automation More Commercial trials Internal 19

20 Current Position - Physical Barriers Sleeves Who? Developed in Sweden. Findings? Sleeves fitted in the nursery Good planting important Socketing on exposed sites Only effective at low populations Paper became waterlogged in year 2 Not currently cost effective in the UK Future? Develop more resistant material Add a botanical repellent Internal 20

21 Current Position - Biological Control Research is now focusing on fungi (EPF) and nematodes (EPN). Nematodes alone can be effective but success variable Who? Swansea University are investigating new methods of applying EPF integrated with botanical extracts which act as attractants or repellents Fargro are investigating repellents applied to stumps to intercept migration How? 1. Lure and Kill - attractants used to lure pests to control agent (EPF). 2. Stress and Kill using a low dose of pesticide to increase susceptibility to EPF. 3. Synergistic relationships using a Combination of EPF and EPN as two plus two gets 5. Findings? Infection rates recorded in trials are promising EPF only infectious during spore stage. Botanicals used as pesticides must still be approved on register. Future? Trial different carriers for the fungal spores Need to test economic viability Push pull using semi chemicals Internal 21

22 Current Position - Chemicals Acetamiprid (Gazelle) currently holds approvals for forest and nursery use. Pyrethroid use continues. Who? Alternative chemicals trialled by UPM Tilhill/Maelor/FR in partnership with manufacturers including Certis & Bayer Coilte trials: Alternative neonicitinoids Findings? Work is being done to refine Gazelle application Gazelle does not carry any bee health warnings on the label. Resistance to neonicotinoids has not yet been observed Future? Permethrin derogation until 2017 FSC Derogation application for Gazelle Potential new chemicals in reserve: Internal 22

23 Hylobius Management Support System (MSS) A Management Support System is a key part of Integrated Pest Management. Who? Hylobius MSS was developed by Dr. Roger Moore at Forest Research Findings? Experience of using MSS varies Success relies on timing planting to coincide with low populations. Fallow period not always practical Future? A review of the system is proposed. Internal 23

24 Looking Ahead the next five years The Goal a toolbox with a number of IPM solution to cover a wide variety of scenarios Physical Protection Altering formulation of wax to prevent cracking Investigate incorporation of botanical repellents Examine robustness of sleeves Look at other existing and new products (eg. Conniflex) Chemicals Continue to trial alternatives to support resistance strategy Refine gazelle top-up spray Apply for derogation for Gazelle In short term seen as critical to maintain control in future may form part of and IPM approach Bio-control Trial viability of lure and kill using attractants & EPF Test different carriers for fungal spores Critical for long term sustainability but challenging to deliver cost effective control MSS System review Increase user base Add more management options eg hot planting Enhance brand for all users Other ideas Breeding trees for resistance to weevil feeding? Has been done in other crops! Focus on producing planting stock with a root collar > 6mm Internal 24

25 Thank You For more