The Tree Protection Co-operative Programme: Past, Present and Future directions

The Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, is the largest forestry protection program in Africa. It was established in 1989 to provide the South African forestry industry with support to manage insect pest and disease problems. Amongst the first challenges at that time were Mycosphaerella leaf blotch and Chrysoporthe canker disease, that threatened the sustainability of the industry. During the course of 34 years, the TPCP has played a critical role in identifying important new pest and disease threats and providing practical solutions to them. Some of the most intensive and sustained research has been on insect invasions caused by the Sirex wood wasp (Sirex noctilio), the Eucalyptus snout beetle (Gonipterus sp. n. 2), and the Eucalyptus gall wasp (Leptocybe invasa) and their biological control; and on diseases such as pine pitch canker (Fusarium circinatum) and Eucalyptus diseases caused by Teratosphaeria spp. and Ceratocystis spp. Since its establishment, more than 45 pest and pathogen systems, mainly affecting Eucalyptus, Pinus and Acacia species have been studied. An important component of the TPCP is to provide field extension and monitoring services to its members, and efforts are made to extend these to its collaborators. An important aspect of the TPCP has been its wide international reach, that has included projects in other African countries, Asia and South America. These collaborations have included an educational component providing post-graduate degrees to researchers that have gone on to contribute to tree health projects abroad. New and serious insect pest and pathogen problems are regularly emerging as threats to plantation forestry globally, and this situation is likely to continue into the future. Consequently, the TPCP, with its powerful base in South Africa, and its international reach, will continue to play a crucially important role in the sustainability of plantation tree health.