Abstract
To determine the effect of the inoculum quantity of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on the initial number of nematodes carried by adult Monochamus alternatus (the initial nematode load) in the modified nematode-loading method of MAEHARA and FUTAI, Pinus densiflora bolts were inoculated with the 4 different inoculum quantities of 1, 000, 5, 000, 10, 000 and 50, 000 nematodes, respectively. The inoculum quantity had no effects on the initial nematode load. A statistical analysis indicated that the variation in the initial nematode load was significantly explained both by the time required from the B. xylophilus nematode and larval M. alternatus inoculation on pine bolts to the adult vector emergence from the bolts and by the abundance level of the fourth-stage dispersal juvenile of B. xylophilus standing or swaying on the wall of artificial pupal chamber just after the beetle emergence.
