Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

For many years Pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) has been one of the most common pests for young conifer seedlings in the northern part of Europe. Chemical protection was commonly used to protect conifer seedlings. Nowadays, certification systems such as FSC and PEFC are wide spread and include rules to reduce the use of chemicals. In the near future, a ban on using insecticides in forestry will be a reality and development of other kinds of Pine weevil protection will be necessary. Mechanical protection is one possible solution to reduce the damage caused by the Pine weevil.
ÅSSI Plantskydd AB has invented a new method for application of mechanical Pine weevil protection. A study of the wax machine was performed to compare the competitiveness to other systems used for treating conifer seedlings with Pine weevil protection.
The conclusions of the study are that the working environment is relatively good at the wax machine and it is possible to increase capacity in the future. The wax machine is also more profitable than manual systems at a production capacity of 2 250 000 treated seedlings per season for the first active year after the investment is done. For the following years the wax machine is more profitable than manual methods already at a production capacity of 500 000 treated seedlings per season.