A Technique to Artificially Infest Beech Bark with the Beech Scale, Crypotococcus fagisuga (Lindinger)

摘要

Beech bark disease is initiated when bark of beech trees (Fagus spp.) is attacked by the beech scale, Cryptococcus fagisuga. The effects of the insect predispose tissues to bark cankering fungi of the genus Nectria. Critical studies of insect-fungus-host interactions had been stymied by the inability to artificially infest beech with the initiating agent. This paper describes a technique using covers of polyurethane foam to initiate or enhance the development of local infestations of the beech scale on both seedlings and large trees.