Prospects for biological methods of controlling oak pests

The article presents the results of experimental evaluation of biological control measures against oak adelgid, striking a young oak effectiveness. The material for the study were the young shoots of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) affected Stomaphis quercus L.. The work was carried out on the basis of Undorovsky forest district of the Ulyanovsk region from May to September 2019. In the study area a detailed survey of the plantings for the major taxonomic characteristics was conducted. In determining the class status of the oak forests forest pathology technique was used. A forested area with the lowest productivity of young plantations was divided into 3 sample areas: the area of control; the area treated with biological product Bicol; the area of settlement of red ants. The area of each zone averaged 0,333 ha. In each of the trial sites 110 instances model trees affected by oak adelgid were selected, at the age of 10 years, with an average diameter of from 2 to 2.2 cm and a height of from 1.8 to 2.3 m, which were based on the number of this pest. The abundance of oak adelgid was calculated on the most populated internodes or on the whole tree, specifying the degree of damage to the tree. The dependence of the sanitary state of trees on the average number of pests has been established. The effectiveness of the biological product Bicol was 16.0 - 44%, depending on the duration of the experiment. Evaluation of the effectiveness of using red forest ants as a biological method for protecting young oak forests from Stomaphis quercus L. throughout the summer season allowed us to identify a growing trend in performance: from 10% in June to 20% in August, which suggests the relative stability of the developed biological protection system for young oak grove. The above statistical analysis confirms the positive effect of the use of the biological product Bikol and the promising nature of the method with the resettlement of red forest ants.