The Araucaria Provenance Seed Collections, Trials, etc page

• the Vanapa beetle. • Hylurdectonus araucarie – a defoliating scolytid that feeds on young leaves and bark of hoop pine. This was Barry Gray’s work • Meliona isodoxa –metallic blue black and red bandedgeometrid day flying moth whose larvae defoliate foliage of hoop pine trees. This insect (Meliona) was the work of Ross Wylie. Other research entomologists as Ian Barber; Dr Brendon Peters and others as Loni Merrifield came later. Gray and his team built up an impressive insect collection which finally became part of the FRI in Lae. Araucaria hunsteinii did not appear to have a wide range of insect pests except for termites. Both species suffered form cut worm and crickets and grasshoppers in the seedling stage and at planting. Sometimes there were rat problems ring barking at the root collar. Fungus in the nurseries were recorded. The forest protection research group dealt with insect and fungus as well as wood rots, of several commercial species.

The Araucaria Provenance Seed Collections, Trials, tree Breeding and Seed Orchards.

This section complements sections 2.2.2.3 and 2.2.2.4 by covering development of research underpinning the tree improvement work and genetic resource capture, domestication, conservation, and continuation of the araucaria seed orchard founded by Leon Clifford and John Thompson. Around 1968 it was decided to bring me into the araucaria tree breeding program (ref D Kari and N Howcroft Sept 1983). This followed a five-day silvicultural research conference in August 1968 at BFC which examined the progress of current research and future developments in terms of project and staff. Attendees were J Smith; KJ White; A L Cameron; J Davidson; L Clifford and N Howcroft.

• LC and NH dealt with conifer and broad leaf species introduction • AC, JD; LC on tree breeding teak, kamarere and araucaria • LC and NH vegetative propagation araucaria and Pinus Towards the end of 1975, events made me responsible for teak and kamarere projects. At such we did lose parts of the Mt Lawes Teak clonal orchard and nearly two thirds of the Vunapalading clonal teak orchard. The Bulolo meeting discussed • research programs; procedure, communications etc • current progress of silviculture • techniques for establishment of klinkii and Pinus (Godlee and Smith) • hoop pine thinning trials • forest protection - entomology B Gray. • mycology and pathology – P Wright. • fire protection J Reilly The conference paved the way for changes in the research pathways and set new targets, development date lines; concluded or increased the life of current projects; took on board recommended adoption of techniques and new projects and where needed new research staff to be recruited. Tree improvement and seed orchard establishment for araucaria; kamarere; teak