Pests and Diseases

Increased International trade has increased the risk of the unwitting introduction of a variety of pests and diseases into our forest ecology.  We take it very seriously.  To help manage the risks firstly we’re members of a number of South African Forestry research institutions like Forestry South Africa, and The Tree Protection Cooperative Program at the University of Pretoria.  We also contribute to a national strategy on coordinating pest and disease research projects.

Closer to home we’ve identified the major threats to our plantations and taken planned risk mitigation actions, some of which are described below:

Sirex Control

Sirex noctilio is a non-indigenous wood wasp currently threatening commercial pine plantations in South Africa, and worldwide.  In an attempt to eradicate it we are on the forefront of control initiatives including thinning and pruning of infected trees in vulnerable areas, as well as other proactive biocontrol methods.  Within the South African Forestry community we’re members of the South African Sirex Control Working Group and have recently initiated the Cape Sirex Working Group as a subset of it.

Fusarium Control

Fusarium circinatum is a fungal plant pathogen that can cause the disease Pitch Canker on growing pine trees.

Since 2004, the control of Fusarium at Karatara Nursery has been a primary goal for Cape Pine.  We controlled it successfully initially but have been unhappy with the environmental impact of the solution, so have pursued less impactful alternatives.

Initially we used chlorine calcium hypochlorite in the water system.  Whilst very successful it was flawed.  It had the potential to possibly kill the fungi micorrhiza, which are beneficial to pine seedlings, and it was hazardous to the workers applying it.  Therefore, in 2009 the nursery replaced this treatment with an ozone process using hydrogen peroxide; it’s proved to be a less harmful method.

Cape Pine’s objective is to find a still more environmentally acceptable solution. We have initiated projects with the University of Stellenbosch to screen P. Radiata families for resistance against Fusarium and have begun a project in collaboration with FABI to do spore counts in the nursery and in highly affected areas in the field.  This will help us better understand the biology of the fungus and give us insight into how to control it.

Our longer term goal is to see the species diversified and to explore breeding for resistance against Fusarium and other pests and diseases.  Our membership to Camcore has made a significant contribution towards this.

Fire Control

We’re constantly reviewing and improving our fire prevention processes.  This includes: burning of branches and other residual off cuts after harvesting; removing weeds and other combustible re-growth under trees and revising fire-breaks and belts, which we’ve now negotiated with our major neighbours.

Fire audits are conducted annually to ensure our legal compliance to fire regulations and to monitor our fire preparedness.  We’ve also initiated the establishment of Fire Protection Associations (FPA’s) and are active in eight, often as part of the management committee, in the Western and Eastern Cape.

Road Damage Control

Floods have washed and out and eroded our roads and river crossings.  We’ve expanded the scope of our maintenance schedule to better understand how water flows across our land through the seasons.  This enables us to implement innovative and appropriate solutions like: timber bridge crossings, or basing the decision to specify a drainage pipe size on the size of the catchment area and local rainfall patterns.