[getsmart-l] Neem Tree extract wanted as repellant for emerald ash borer in Toronto

[John O'Gorman]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080109.TREES09/TPStory/?query=neem+ash
ENVIRONMENT: VORACIOUS BUG THREATENS TORONTO'S TREES

Officials ask for emergency pesticide approval to fend off beetle
KATE HARRIES Special to The Globe and Mail January 9, 2008

Provincial forestry officials are hoping for emergency federal approval of an insecticide derived from a tree grown in India that can protect against the emerald ash borer.

To date, there has been no effective control for the voracious beetle that's eliminating a key component of the region's hardwood forest. It has chewed its way across South-western Ontario since it was detected in Michigan in 2002, and was found for the first time in Toronto last month.

The Ministry of Natural Resources has applied for emergency registration for azadirachtin, a compound extracted from the neem tree seed that was tested on the borer in London, Ont., last summer.

"Because this is a new pest, we don't have any other products registered, we are viewing it as an emergency situation," said Rebecca Fleming, spokeswoman for the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, a branch of Health Canada, adding that a risk assessment must be conducted before it can be approved.

"It would be ideal to have the insecticide available for use this spring," provincial entomologist Taylor Scarr said. "We're very optimistic that the insecticide does work."

The neem product was developed in the Canadian Forest Service laboratory in Sault Ste. Marie in partnership with BioForest Technologies, a private company based there.

Richard Ubbens, Toronto's city forester, said the product shows promise because it's injected directly into a tree, reducing the potential for adverse environmental effects. Treating each tree individually is expensive, but still cheaper than removal and replacement, which he estimated at $37-million to $40-million for the city's 30,000 street ashes.

A spokesperson for BioForest Technologies put the cost of treating an average-sized tree in the range of $100 to $300. Reapplication is needed every couple of years.

Mr. Ubbens said there are likely another 425,000 ashes in city parks and naturalized areas and on private property. "[The borer] is so devastating, we're talking about wiping out a genus, not just a species."

He's unsure whether the city will be in a position to use the new insecticide this year, saying he's awaiting direction from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on how to address the infestation of a clump of 35 trees on a condominium property at Highway 404 and Sheppard Ave.

Tree injections show promise in urban areas and for "high-value" trees - on golf courses or in backyards. But they won't work on woodlots or in the landscape, said Barry Lyons, who's co-ordinating research for the Canadian Forest Service.

There's no magic bullet against an insect that has spread so fast and become established so quickly. "At this point, no, we can't get rid of it," he said. "Most of the strategy at this point involves slowing the spread of the insect. ... If we can do that, we can spread out the cost of managing it over the years."

One major challenge is the insect's ability to build up its population undetected to the point that trees are too weakened to save. A solution would be a trap that provides an early warning.

The MNR has turned to Trent University professor Raymond March, an expert in mass spectrometry, who's trying to isolate the compounds ash trees generate when under attack.

Unfortunately they don't deter the alien invader. Instead, perversely, they attract the beetle in swarms. But this mechanism could be turned against the insect if the chemicals can be identified, because they could be used as a lure in a mechanical trap.
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