POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) Presented by Roedolf Nieuwenhuis - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) Presented by Roedolf Nieuwenhuis – Biosecurity Manager Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

INTRODUCTION We are a specialized Service Provider and our focus is to support government’s, stakeholders and industries goals across Southern Africa to safeguard resources by ensuring that invasive pests and diseases are detected as soon as possible before they have a chance to cause significant damage. Efficient monitoring of pests and diseases is the first line of defense against damage. Our detection efforts increase the likelihood that new harmful pests and diseases will be noticed successfully while occurrences are still localized, and infected resources are not beyond that which can be contained, and possibly eradicated. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Cropwatch Africa Projects • Capacity building and farmer training in 14 Southern African Countries for Fall armyworm – UN FAO Project • Kingdom of Eswatini farmer and Government training on invasive pests and field identification – USDA APHIS Project • National surveillance of different armyworm species in South Africa – Grain SA Project • Early Warning Surveillance for invasive Pests in the Kruger Park – USDA Project Platforms are fully customizable to suit individual needs accross multiple sectors Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) There is no way in which the PHSB invasion in South Africa can be stopped. However, some treatments and management strategies can reduce its impact. At present no chemical product is registered (legal) to use on PSHB in South Africa. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) • The polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB) was recently introduced into South Africa and it is spreading rapidly • Tiny beetle, smaller than a sesame seed • Larvae live in galleries within trees and feed on fungus • Beetles create holes in trees which the pattern resembles shot-gun spray • Adult beetles is rarely seen, visual scouting for signs of an infestation Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

POLYPHAGOUS SHOT HOLE BORER (PSHB) Relationship between Fungus and Borer Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Current Host Trees in South Africa REPRODUCTIVE HOST TREES 1 Exotic species Native SA species Latin name Common name Latin name Common name Acacia melanoxylon Blackwood Combretum krausii Forest bushwillow Acacia mearnsii Black wattle Erythrina caffra Coast coral tree Acer buergerianum Trident (Chinese) maple Podalyria calyptrata Water blossom pea Acer negundo Boxelder Psoralea pinata Fountain bush Acer palmatum Japanese maple Salix mucronata Cape willow Brachychiton discolor Pink flame tree Virgilia oroboides subsp. fe Keurboom rruginea Gleditsia triacanthos Honey locust Liquidambar styraciflua American sweetgum Magnolia grandiflora Southern magnolia Persea americana Avocado Platanus x acerifolia London plane Quercus palustris Pin oak Quercus robur English oak Ricinus communis Castor bean Salix alba White willow Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Greater Kruger National Park Project Objectives • Capacity building on community level • PSHB Theory and Practical training sessions • Setup of trapping grid for surveillance • Continuous monitoring and visual surveys for tree damage Goals • Identify possible pathways • Capacity building on pest, symptoms and visual identification • Equip local communities with actionable insights and usable knowledge • Early Detection and continuous monitoring of spread • Near Real-time maps and surveillance data for quick decision making • Collaboration of all Stakeholders Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Training Various training sessions needs to be conducted in and around the Kruger National Park, the training will enable stakeholders and local communities with the knowledge and skills to monitor and report possible damage symptoms. Training will be spilt into the following groups: ✓ Local communities – capacity building ✓ Private concessions ✓ SANParks staff Training will mainly consist of theory on the identification, detection and damage symptoms of PSHB. Training will be expanded to include usage of mobile application for field data collection. All participants will receive certificate of attendance as well as a field kit. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Early Warning Surveillance We propose an Early Warning Surveillance grid throughout the Greater Kruger National Park with emphasis on entrance gates main camps. Surveillance and scouting activities need to be expanded to agricultural entities and towns “Buffer Zone” bordering the Kruger National Park. This will ensure possible pest introductions are detected well in advance before numbers are too high to contain and or manage within the Park. Monitoring for Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer (PSHB), Euwallacea spp., and Fusarium Dieback can be challenging: the invasive pest complex attacks over 260 different species, including common native, landscape, and agricultural trees. Visual surveys are effective for identifying PSHB symptoms on individual trees but may not be practical for several acres of inaccessible bush. In this case, monitoring traps can be installed to detect PSHB presence. A lure called quercivorol helps attract beetles to the trap. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Early Warning Surveillance cont. Pheromones to attract the PSHB will be registered by Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries in accordance with South African laws. Regular lab analysis is conducted by a reputable independent laboratory on samples of the imported pheromones to ensure product quality. All laboratory certificates are provided to clients. Research are currently being conducted in order to locally manufacture the attractants. Surveillance will be in the form of Early Warning and will be conducted once per month. Section Rangers needs to be trained to inspect and report on the traps in order to have more frequent data available. Should an infestation occur, surveillance activities will have to intensify to bi-weekly and move from Early Warning to Delimiting Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Early Warning Surveillance cont. Whenever possible, visual tree surveys are preferred over monitoring traps. Trapping is a passive detection method that is useful for large or inaccessible areas. However, regular inspections of individual trees are recommended. If time and resources allow, this is a more accurate and precise way of detecting PSHB. Examples of our current surveillance work being conducted in the KNP with emphasis on invasive alien invertebrate pests. Figure 1 is a heatmap to show distribution, Figure 2 are the actual trap locations. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Cloud Platform examples Field survey collecting data using mobile app with tracking Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Trapping PSHB The Lindgren / Funnel Trap as can be seen in the image is known worldwide as the best option as they come in different variants of funnels, e.g. 4 / 6 or 8 funnels. A combination of attractant and repellent will be used in conjunction with visual tree surveys Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Weather Stations Adding to the visual scouting and attractant based surveillance, the use of pest forecasting models based on weather conditions will be utilized in order to prioritize possible hotspots. The weather data will be collected from 7 sponsored weather stations by Hortec which will be strategically placed within the Kruger National Park, all weather data and forecasting data will be accessible through the secure web platform. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Student Program Cropwatch Africa are in the process of establishing a Student program specifically for the Kruger National Park to let 6 University Students from all over the world gain first hand experience in conducting field work with regards to trapping and surveillance on a monthly basis. Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Student Program The students will pay for a 14-day Kruger camping experience and in return resources are available to conduct among other important PSHB work within the Kruger National Park and possibly the Greater Kruger Park. Final touches and Marketing are being put in place. This program will aid in covering some of the monthly funding required for the surveillance, and is due to start in May 2019 Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS

Thank you www.cropwatch.africa info@cropwatch.africa Vin Vasive Courtesy of USDA APHIS