Efficiency of Spraying Mountain Pine Cones with Oleoresin of Swiss Stone Pine Cones to Prevent Insect Attack

The difference in cone colonization by specialized insects that had been observed between Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) and mountain pine (P. uncinata Ram.) prompted us to test whether volatiles and oleoresin of Swiss stone pine cones may serve as a barrier for insect attack. The volatiles emitted by cones of both pine species were sampled using headspace techniques in the French Alps. The cone volatiles of both species essentially consisted of seven similar monoterpenes, but the terpene profiles markedly differed between species. α-Pinene (67% of the total), β-pinene, and limonene + β-phellandrene were dominant in the cone volatiles of Swiss stone pine, while the cone emissions of mountain pine showed no dominant terpenoid. The cone oleoresin of P. cembra significantly differed from cone volatiles by a lower level of α-pinene and higher levels of β-pinene and limonene + β-phellandrene. Field sprays of mountain pine cones with oleoresin extracts of Swiss stone pine cones significantly reduced the overall damage of specialized cone insects. None of the cones sprayed with oleoresin were attacked, whereas 11% and 31% of the unsprayed control cones were damaged by insects. Specific cone damage due to a cone weevil, Pissodes validirostris Gyll. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and a cone pyralid, Dioryctria mutatella Fuchs (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), were significantly decreased in one year. The volatile profile of the sprayed cones differed markedly from that of unsprayed mountain pine cones, especially in the higher level of myrcene. However, the volatile profile of the sprayed cones also differed from that of the oleoresin extract used for spraying. The role of monoterpenes in protecting the sprayed cones from insect attack is discussed.