Efficacy of Biological and Chemical Control Agents against Heterobasidion Spore Infections of Norway Spruce and Scots Pine Stumps on Drained Peatland

Abstract

Treatment of conifer stumps with a control agent effectively prevents Heterobasidion spore infections in summer cuttings and protects the residual stand and the next tree generation from damage caused by Heterobasidion root rot. Thus far, stump treatment experiments have been carried out in mineral soils, and no information is available on the efficacy of stump treatment agents in boreal peatland conditions. In the present study, biological and chemical control agents (Phlebiopsis gigantea and urea, respectively) were tested in Scots pine and Norway spruce stands subjected to thinning, cap cutting, and clearcutting on drained peatland in Central Finland. The control efficacy of urea was high in both spruce and pine stumps (on average 99.5 and 85.3%, respectively), while the efficacy of P. gigantea was highly variable on both tree species and ranged from full protection down to negative control effect, i.e., there were more Heterobasidion infections on the treated than untreated half of the stumps. The moisture content of the stump wood or the thickness of the peat layer did not affect the control efficacy of either control agent. These results emphasize a need for further studies to determine the reasons for the unsteadiness of the biological control in peatland conditions.