Volume 62 Number 1 Article 6
Year 2008 Month 1
Title: Observations on Rodent Feeding Damage to Pear Germplasm in Cold Storage (Research Note)
Authors: D.M. Hunter, C.A. Collucci
Abstract:
Fall-dug nursery trees stored in a cold storage were damaged by rodent feeding over the winter of 2004-2005.
Damage to pear (Pyrus communis L.) scion cultivars was confined to the lower trunk region with little damage to the
Bartlett seedling rootstocks.
Damage ranged from nibbling of some buds to complete girdling and bark removal of
a considerable length of the trunk.
Position of the tree bundle in the storage appeared to have no effect on severity
of damage.
An arbitrary 7-point scale was used to rate the severity of damage on 22 cultivars.
The least damaged
cultivars were ‘Moonglow’, ‘Giffard’ and ‘Butirra Precoce Morettini’, whilst ‘Thornless Seckel’, ‘Conference’
and ‘AC Harrow Gold’ were severely damaged.
In late spring 2005, all trees were replanted into nursery rows to
allow trees to recover.
Only trees with damage ratings in the slight to moderate range showed signs of recovery
during the 2005 growing season.
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