Ten years of microbiological control program against lepidopterous defoliatorsin Sardinian cork oak forests

Abstract: Severe infestations of Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus) and Malacosoma neustrium(Linnaeus) have become increasingly frequent in Sardinian cork oak forests. The consequentprogressive decay of the health conditions of oak trees has threatened the conservation of oakforests and the amount and quality of cork production. To limit the damage caused by L. disparand M. neustrium in Sardinia, a microbiological control program using Bacillus thuringiensissubsp kurstaki have involved approximately 100,000 hectares of cork oak forests in the period2001-2010. Here we report the main results achieved and problems faced during the controlprogram.