SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF ASH TREES ARE PROMISING FOR GREENING IN MEGAPOLIES UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE EMERALD ASH BORER (AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS: COLEOPTERA, BUPRESTIDAE) INVASION IN UKRAINE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/1998-6475.2025.59.17Keywords:
Fraxinus, greening of megacities, invasion of Agrilus planipennisAbstract
The aim of the research was to identify species and varieties of ash trees (Fraxinus, Oleaceae) resistant to damage by the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire = EAB). Damage by the borer larva can lead to complete drying of the tree within 2–3 years. The rapid spread of this invasive pest in Ukraine threatens the cultivation of ash trees in parks, botanical gardens, and forest park areas. Monitoring the phytosanitary condition of ash plantations using pheromone and colored sticky traps and visual inspection of plants are the most effective means of timely detection of borer outbreaks. It is believed that the most effective way to combat the pest is to cut down and remove damaged trees, especially in megacities, where the use of pesticides by spraying plants is impossible. In 2024–2025, more than 120 trees were examined in the Botanical Garden named after Acad. O.V. Fomin (hereinafter referred to as the BSF) and species and varieties of ash trees that were not damaged by the goldenrod were previously identified. These are F. excelsior var. aureovariegata Weston, F. excelsior L. ‘Crispa’, ‘Heterophylla’, ‘Pendula’, ‘Nana’; F. chinensis subsp. rhynchophylla (Hance) A.E. Murray, F. sogdiana Bunge and F. pallisae Willmott, F. latifolia Benth., F. ornus L. The susceptibility to the EAB was not confirmed for F. angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa (M. Bieb. ex Willd.) Franco & Rocha Afonso. The following were reliably damaged by the EAB: F. pennsylvanica Marshall, , F. profunda (Bush) Bush, F. angustifolia subsp. syriaca (Boiss) Yalt. As a temporary solution to replace damaged trees, it has been proposed to cut them down to the stump. After such a procedure, ash trees produce lush root growth, which by the age of 15–20 does not have thick enough bark and bast for the development of the goldenrod larva. Our data can be considered preliminary for the scientific and practical search for ash species and varieties resistant to goldenrod damage.
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