Breathe easy with biocontrol

One in four people in Europe suffer from hay fever, affecting the quality of life of millions. The average cost of hay fever related diseases amounts to around €600 per patient per year from treatment costs and lost time working. One of the worst offending invasive plants for hay fever sufferers is the North American…
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Tiny mite could prove a ‘mighty’ weapon in the fight against one of the UK’s most invasive weeds

CABI scientists are stepping up the fight against one of the UK’s most invasive non-native aquatic weeds. Approval has been given for the release of a novel biological control agent – the mite, Aculuscrassulae – to assess its ability in the real-world environment to suppress Australian swamp stonecrop (Crassula helmsii), also known as New Zealand pigmyweed. This…
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Giant Hogweed: Biology, Impacts and Management

Edited by Corin Pratt and Marion Seier. Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) is a monocarpic perennial herb, native to the Caucasus region. Since the late 1800s, giant hogweed has spread extensively across Europe and in eastern and western parts of North America following its likely initial introduction to the continent as an ornamental curiosity as early…
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Scientists debate how best to tackle invasive plants across Europe

Some of the world’s leading scientists in the field of alien invasive plants are to debate how best to tackle the scourge of a range of alien invasive plants – some of whose pollen can cause severe irritation in humans and threaten native ecosystems.
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New Trial Eradicated 80% of a Disease-Carrying Mosquito Population

A new trial experiment undertaken in Australia has been shown to successfully eliminate 80% of the disease-bearing mosquito Aedes aegypti.
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Protecting Carnaúba Palm Trees in Brazil from Devil’s Claw

Called the “White Forest” by native populations, the Caatinga ecosystem covers an estimated 11% of Brazil and is spread across the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, northern Minas Gerais, Maranhão Paraíba, Piau, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe. This dry forest is home to the largest populations of Carnaúba palms in the world. It…
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Himalayan Balsam: Cause or Associate of Soil Erosion?

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is a non-native annual plant that was introduced into parts of Europe during the mid-nineteenth century as an ornamental plant for parks and gardens. This plant species was first recognised as an invasive species and a threat to ecological stability in the 1930’s. However, since then the problem has escalated and…
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Parthenium: Controlling the world’s most destructive toxic weed

The poisonous Parthenium hysterophorus plant is one of the world’s most destructive invasive plant species, threatening biodiversity, food security and human health across numerous countries. The herb is native to Central and South America but has spread to over 40 countries over recent decades including Australia, India, Ethiopia, Swaziland and South Africa.
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Climate change and its implication on Biological Control: Case studies from Latin America

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Could entomopathogenic nematodes combat fall armyworm?

Research is currently underway to study new ways of encapsulating and applying entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) to better combat the invasive and destructive fall armyworm in Africa. PhD student Patrick Fallet is investigating the possibility of a novel biocontrol approach which will attract the armyworm caterpillars to beads containing biocontrol agents such as the insect-killing EPN.
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