Northern Research Station

Title: Attraction of the emerald ash borer to ash trees stressed by girdling, herbicide treatment, or wounding

Author: McCullough, Deborah; Poland, Therese; Cappaert, David.

Date: 2009

Source: Can. J. For. Res. 39(7): 1331–1345.

Description: New infestations of emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, an invasive pest native to Asia, are difficult to detect until densities build and symptoms appear on affected ash (Fraxinus spp). We compared the attraction of A. planipennis to ash trees stressed by girdling (bark and phloem removed from a 15 cm wide band around the tree (2003–2005)), vertical wounding (same area of bark and phloem removed in a vertical strip (2004)), herbicide treatment (Pathway applied with a Hypo-Hatchet tree injector (2003) or basal bark application of Garlon 4 (2004, 2005)), exposure to the volatile stress elicitor methyl jasmonate (2005), or left untreated (2003–2005). The number and density of captured adults and density of larvae were recorded for 24, 18, and 18 replicates of each treatment at four, three, and five sites in 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. Girdled trees generally captured more adult A. planipennis and consistently had higher larval densities than untreated trees, and at most sites, than trees stressed by other treatments. Differential attraction to girdled trees was more pronounced at sites with lower densities of A. planipennis. Rates of capture of adults and densities of larvae were higher on trees in full or nearly full sun than on shaded trees. Girdled trees could be a useful tool for use in operational programs to detect or manage localized A. planipennis infestations.

Keywords: emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, Ash, Fraxinus

View and Print this Publication (284.01 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• This publication may be available in hard copy. Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication.
• Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact Sharon Hobrla, shobrla@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unuseable.

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

McCullough, Deborah; Poland, Therese; Cappaert, David.  2009.  Attraction of the emerald ash borer to ash trees stressed by girdling, herbicide treatment, or wounding.   Can. J. For. Res. 39(7): 1331–1345..