The occurrence of insect pests on pedunculate oak tested on the Chrostowa II experimental plot

Abstract

The present paper is about the provenance and family diversity of insect occurrence on the offspring of 58 pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) trees representing 5 populations from the Polish range of species. Researches were conducted on the Chrostowa II test plot, located in the Brzesko Forest District (southern Poland). Differences in symptoms of trees inhabitation by Andricus kollari (Hartig, 1843) ♂♂, Andricus lignicolus (Hartig, 1840) ♂♂, Andricus foecundatrix (Hartig, 1840) ♂♂, Biorrhiza pallida (Olivier, 1791) ♂♀, Andricus inflator (Hartig, 1840) ♀♂, Andricus conglomeratus (Giraud, 1859) ♂♂, Andricus quercusradicis (Fabricius, 1798) ♂♂, and Lachnus roboris (Linnaeus, 1758) were evaluated. Approximately 45% of oaks grown at the test site were damaged. The majority of trees were inhabited by A. kollari (35.7%) while the lowest number of trees was inhabited by A. inflator, A. conglomeratus and A. quercusradicis (0.1%). Analysis of variance showed that certain species prefer the offspring of certain provenances. Also a high diversity among families within provenances was found. The effect of the family and provenance was statistically significant on oaks with galls caused by A. kollari, A. foecundatrix and B. pallida share. High heritability values were obtained for A. kollari on the population and family level (0.86 and 0.70 respectively) and for the rest of the species only on the provenance level. The presence of L. roboris was greatly influenced rather by environmental than genetic factors, also being characterized by low heritability values.