Biological control of apple leaf-curling midge in Canada
A European biological control agent may help control an exotic pest of apple trees in western Canada. Damage from the apple leaf-curling midge in eastern Canada was effectively reduced by introducing a European natural enemy, Platygaster demades, in the 1990s. The pest arrived in British Columbia more recently, where releases…
Invasive plants to devastate annual wildebeest migration
According to new research, scientists have found that a number of invasive alien plant species initially introduced as ornamental plants at tourism facilities are now spreading rapidly throughout the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, posing a major threat to wildlife, including the annual wildebeest and zebra migration as well as a range of other…
Using beneficial maize-rhizosphere microbials against western corn rootworm
The western corn rootworm is a major invasive maize pest in North America and Europe. The phase-out of certain pesticides means control options are increasingly limited. New technologies are being researched in collaboration with five French partners. Using field surveys and candidate gene searches through database-mining, we are investigating bacterial…
Action on Invasives
The global cost of invasive species is estimated at US$1.4 trillion per year – close to 5% of global gross domestic product. Invasives disproportionately affect vulnerable communities in poor rural areas, especially in developing countries which depend on natural resources, healthy ecosystems, trade and tourism for their livelihoods.
Biological control of hawkweeds
European hawkweeds are invasive in North American pastures, where mechanical methods of control are difficult and ineffective. Chemical control with broad-spectrum herbicides is not selective and relatively expensive, with the weed often recolonising untreated pastures. Insects that feed on hawkweeds in Europe have been studied as potential biological control agents…
Revisiting biological control of field bindweed
Field bindweed is a Eurasian vine whose dense creeping and twining growth smothers other vegetation and its long-lived seeds and deep roots make it hard to control. It is a noxious weed of agricultural fields in temperate regions and has become invasive in North America. CABI is studying sustainable control…