News

Biocontrol for Water Hyacinth is Being Field Tested

Entomologists at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Florida and the South American Biological Control Laboratory in Argentina have collaborated to research and test a South American planthopper, Megamelus scutellaris, that feeds on the invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). This floating aquatic plant has choked many waterways of the Southeast but can now be found across North America. Water hyacinth can completely cover open water, impeding navigation and the function of hydroelectric and water-treatment facilities, as well as outcompeting native aquatic vegetation and causing fish kills by creating hypoxic water conditions. The leafhopper was brought to Florida in 2006 for the initial host-specificity trials. The next phase of testing began last month and involves limited field release at the Edgefield Stormwater Treatment facility. To read the press release, click here.
--------- (posted 06/09/10) ---------





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