ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Lampetis nigerrima on three-month old eucalypt and pruning training, applied five months after the occurrence of this beetle. The studies were conducted in cultured clonal Eucalyptus grandis vs Eucalyptus urophylla. Twelve hundred trees were analyzed through a delimitation of four randomized blocks with 400 trees per treatment. The treatments were: T1 = trees with canopies and shoots without damages by Lampetis nigerrima beetles (witnesses); T2 = trees with canopies and shoots were damaged by Lampetis nigerrima beetles, but were pruned; and, T3 = trees with canopies and shoots were damaged by Lampetis nigerrima beetles but did not receive correction pruning. The growth and wood production of trees were evaluated up to 32 months of age, based on height (Ht), chest height diameter (DAP) and quality of the main stem. Trees not damaged by Lampetis nigerrima presented, 29 months after the attack of the beetle, wood production greater than damaged trees without pruning. Pruning training reduces the loss of height growth and increases the quality of stems of trees damaged or pruned in comparison with those without pruning. The attack of the Lampetis nigerrima on eucalypt plantations impairs the quantity and quality of wood production. This beetle can be considered as another important forest pest in forestry in Brazil.
Keywords:
Forest entomology; leaf beetle; pruning; wood