WEEVIL STOP · Development of a cost-effective and sustainable insecticide-free plant protection method, eliminating widespread catastrophic damage in the forestry caused by the pine weevil Hylobius abietis

The WeevilSTOP project will significantly increase competitiveness and sustainability for the large number of SMEs in the European Forestry and Forest-based Industries. About 16 million Private Forest Owners manage 60% of Europe’s forest, generating 3 million jobs and create a total turnover of €300Bn annually.Our community has a great and urgent need for innovation in order to substitute currently used insecticides that are banded by new EU Regulations and by certification bodies due to health and environmental issues. To prevent a huge economical loss in the range of annually €140 M in EU-27 for the forestry sector, we need alternative insecticide-free plant protection methods.Our idea is to develop a cost-effective and sustainable insecticide-free pest management method for young forest trees that is even more effective than insecticides. We propose to create innovative technology for environment-friendly, toxicologically safe, and sustainable pest management of one of the most destructive pests in tree planting and re-forestation of conifer forests – the pine weevil Hylobius abietis.We will achieve this by 1) using a refined wax formulation, which mechanically protects the stem bark from feeding damages inflicted by the adult pine weevil; 2) developing a new Waxing System that precisely coats the main stem of conifer seedlings with wax, and 3) developing a new Pick-and-Place System to handle all kinds of containerized grown spruce seedlings.Our innovation will prevent the private forest owners from an economical loss of annually €140 M in EU-27. Moreover, the private forest owners will benefit from substantial savings in costs for pest management, increased revenues from up to 8% higher wood production resulting from 10% lower seedlings mortality rate, and new market opportunities for certified wood, improved working environment for protecting human health, CO2 savings, and an improved environment.