fundamental studies of insect habits and behavior and of envi- 

 ronmental factors affecting insect abundance. 



Forest Diseases. — Before effective measures can be devised to sub- 

 stantially reduce the annual loss of billions of board feet of sawtimber 

 from diseases, the nature and extent of this damage needs much more 

 intensive study. ( )f special concern are the mounting problems caused 

 py the introduction of new diseases or the sudden flareup of previously 

 innocuous ones that are favored by more intensive management prac- 

 tices, such as one-species plantation culture, thinning, and pruning. 

 These problems are costly to cope with and they cannot be quickly 

 solved without more basic information on the identity and life proc- 

 esses of pathogens, which can be obtained only through study of their 

 taxonomy, ecology, physiology, and genetics. Similarly, there is need 

 for a great deal more knowledge of the toxic principles associated with 

 the damage caused by noninfectious diseases due, for example, to air 

 pollution, severe weather, or unfavorable soil conditions. Control 

 measure- utilizing direct chemical or biological or indirect silvicul- 

 tural approaches must be developed. Once control measures are ap- 

 plied, continuing study is needed to evaluate their effectiveness under 

 a variety of conditions and to better adapt and adjust them to meet 

 many different situations. 



The research program proposed will : 



1. Provide information on the life processes and reproductive re- 

 quirements of destructive forest pathogens (fungi, bacteria, 

 viruses, nematodes, and mistletoes) and on the edaphic and 

 climatic factors that influence their spread and intensification. 



'2. Create an understanding of relationships between tree roots and 

 micro-organisms in various >oils to develop preventive and control 

 methods for annosus root rot of southern pines and poria root rot 

 of Douglas-Hr. 



3. Select and breed trees genetically resistant to epidemic diseases 

 such as fusiform rust and little leaf of southern pines, blister 

 rust of white pines, dwarfmistletoes on western conifers, and 

 heart rots of all important species. 



4. Determine the physiological and biochemical action of systemic 

 antibiotic compounds for the direct control of forest diseases such 

 as the rusts and dwarfmistletoes of conifers, stem cankers of 

 hardwood, and oak wilt. 



5. Determine the toxic components in noxious industrial fumes and 

 how they interfere with normal tree growth and health, emphasiz- 

 ing the effects on trees of prolonged discontinuous fumigation 

 with low concentrations of air pollutants. 



6. Determine the nutritional and environmental requirements for 

 healthy tree growth as the basis for the formulation of practical, 

 effective biological and silvicultural controls for forest diseases. 



7. Formulate and improve measures to lessen or prevent the inter- 

 continental spread of dangerous forest pathogens and thereby 

 avoid introduction of additional catastrophic diseases such as 

 chestnut blight and white pine blister rust. 



Forest Products and Engineering Research 



A strong program of basic and applied research on forest products 

 utilization problems is vital to achievement of the Nation's future tim- 



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