Control of insect damage to black spruce seed cones with neem

A neem seed extract was applied to black spruce trees at two stages of reproductive development to control insect damage to the seed cones. Applied after pollination, neem had no effect on damage by the spruce cone maggot but did provide some protection against defoliation by the spruce budworm. Neem had no effect on the numbers of spruce budworm larvae for the first 9 days of the experiment, but after 23 days, populations declined on trees with two of three neem treatments compared to control trees. Neem reduced cone grazing damage by lepidopteran larvae when applied during the flowering stage. However, increased female flower abortion also resulted. The application of neem seed extract for controlling spruce budworm damage appears promising, but more information is needed on earlier applications in the field to determine if this product could be used operationally without causing substantial flower abortion