Persistence in Soil and on Foliage of Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus of the European Pine Sawfly, Neodiprion sertifer (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae)

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Abstract
Six plots of pine trees harboring high densities of N. sertifer larvae were sprayed with the nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV) of this species. Half of these plots were resprayed in the second year of the study. Polyhedral inclusion bodies (PIB) were recovered in all plots from soil and foliage sampled at fixed time intervals within a 21-month period from the initial date of spraying. The concentration of PIB from both soil and foliage samples in the second year were generally lower in plots treated once than in those treated twice. NPV-induced larval mortality in plots sprayed once was 100% in the first season and 8% in the second. Laboratory bioassays of soil samples at intervals within the 21-month period resulted in 11 to 80% NPV-induced larval mortality. This study suggests that the NPV of N. sertifer can persist and retain some activity for at least 21 months under field conditions.

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