Sawflies (Perga species) are leaf-damaging pests of the major plantation tree species Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus. This work describes the patterns of quantitative genetic variation in susceptibility to attack by Perga affinis ssp. insularis, based on data from a large open-pollinated trial containing genetic material from throughout the geographic range of E. globulus ssp. globulus Forty three per cent of the trees in the trial exhibited damage from sawflies in either their sixth or seventh growth seasons. The incidence of damage was genetically based, with significant variation between geographic races of E. globulus ssp. globulus and highly heritable (h 2 = 0.43 ± 0.05) variation in damage incidence within races. Susceptibility to sawfly damage significantly affects plant fitness with both genetic and environmental correlations demonstrating that sawfly damage causes slow growth and increased mortality of trees. Mild and severe sawfly damage resulted in 16 and 31% reduction in the basal area of surviving trees, and the effect was consistent across races and families. Based on this data, we propose a model predicting relative plantation productivity of races of different susceptibility under different infestation regimes. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Forestry sciences
Research Field:	Forest health and pathology
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Forestry
Objective Field:	Hardwood plantations
UTAS Author:	Jordan, GJ (Professor Greg Jordan)
UTAS Author:	Potts, BM (Professor Brad Potts)
ID Code:	24482
Year Published:	2002
Web of Science® Times Cited:	35
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2002-08-01
Last Modified:	2011-08-02
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