Occurrence of gum spots in black cherry after partial harvest cutting

Bark beetles, primarily the bark beetle Phlosotribus liminori (Harris), are the major cause of gum spots in sawtimber-size black cherry Prunus serotina Ehrh. Approximately 90 percent of all gum spots in the bole sections are caused by bark beetles. Gum spots were studied in 95 black cherry trees near Parsons, West Virginia. Over 50 percent of the bark beetle-caused gum spots occurred during the first 2 years following partial harvest cuts. Cambium miners, Phytobia pruni (Gross), peach tree borers, Synanthedon pictipes (Grote and Robinson) and S. exidiosa (Say) caused little degrade in the quality zone of veneer logs in factory grade 1 and 2 sawlogs.