A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF THE PINE CATERPILLAR(Dendrolimus kikuchii Mats.) IN THE HOT SPRING FOREST AREA,KUNMING,CHINA

Since a forest ecosystem,whether natural or artificial,is usually ecologically well balanced especially in comparison with agro-ecosystem,so it is wise to manage forest pests,such as the pine caterpillar,by depending as much as possible on the natural control agents existing in the forest ecosystem itself.Based upon the above strategy and the results of our investigation of the pest population dynamics,and also upon our practical experiences with pest management during the recent years,the measures presently adopted to keep the pest population density under the economic injury level are as follows:1.Determining the density of the over-wintering larva population over the infestation centers and practicing spot-dusting with a suitable chemical on the winter host plants(normally among the lower vegetation) before the larvae begin to move up to the pine crowns in early spring.2.Clipping and destroying the densely concentrated cocoons of the caterpillar on the lower vegetation of the infestation centers,and if possible,letting the tachnid parasites develope and return to the forest.3.Estimating the mass density1 over the infestation centers,and if necessary,releasing a suitable amount of local reared Tricogramma parasites so as to increase the parasitization rate of the pest egg masses.Finally,the writers emphasize the importance of further work on the development of life tables for both the pest and the host plant in order to have adequate data for establishing a more appropriate economic injury level in terms of larva density as well as for formulating a population trend predictive equation.