Glue and sand stop beetle (Hylobius abietis) and remove toxins

March 31, 2010 by timbercommunity

Hylobius abietis is a beetle belonging to the family Curculionidae  (the true weevils).  This weevil is a common throughout Europe  and affects regeneration of logging practices. Pine weevil harm cost forestry 100 million SEK per year in Sweden.

Glue and sand replace insecticides on spruce and pine seedlings
Conniflex machine processing pine and spruce seedlings with an adhesive which is covered with fine sand. Every grain of sand is just the right size for the pine weevil jaws do not reach around it. It should also not be any place for the pine weevil to gnaw apart the plant's thin bark between the sand so that the plant dies.

Conniflex will make an ecological alternative in forestry.
The National Forest Company, Sveaskog, has built a plant protection Conniflex and  this product is now ready for commercially use. Sveaskog estimates that approximately 150 million seedlings are treated with insecticides each year. Within five years, Sveaskog will be able to treat between 40 and 50 million plants per year. It is hoped that other companies will buy method and process their own plants.