parthenium

Colony of weevils safely in CABI Pakistan quarantine

Donna HutchinsonLeave a comment

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A colony of 200 Listronotus (Listronotus setosipennis) have been safely transported from South Africa to Pakistan. The stem mining weevil is a biological control agent against parthenium. CABI’s Dr Philip Weyl, with the help of Dr Lorraine Strathie (ARC-PPRI) successfully imported the weevils into the new quarantine facility at CABI’s Central and Western Asia (CWA) offices in Pakistan from South Africa.

The weevils arrived safely into their new home in Pakistan with “virtually no mortality” according to Dr Weyl. The insects have been put onto parthenium plants to start CABI’s own colony for host specificity testing of important plants in Pakistan.

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CABI publishes recommendations to fight scourge of parthenium weed in Central West Asia

Wayne ColesLeave a comment

Parthenium in Pakistan

CABI has published a new evidence note highlighting a list of recommendations to fight the highly-invasive parthenium weed which can have significant impacts on human health, the environment, livestock production and health and crop yields.

The report ‘Parthenium: Impacts and coping strategies in Central West Asia’, states that the aggressively-spreading weed, now classified as a ‘superior weed,’ is extremely prolific being capable of producing up to 30,000 seeds per plant – a key factor in its global spread to 48 countries including India and Pakistan.

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Zygogramma bicolorata released at selected sites in Pakistan as biological control of parthenium

Donna Hutchinson1 Comment

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Parthenium hysterophorus is a highly destructive weed which has invaded and is widespread in around 48 countries in Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific. In Pakistan the weed is spreading rapidly westwards and southwards across both rural and urban landscapes, affecting native ecology and harming agriculture.

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Invasives Most Read 2018

Donna HutchinsonLeave a comment

Parthenium in Pakistan

2018 has been a bumper year for the CABI Invasives blog, with 4 times more posts than 2017 and over twice the number of views (over 20,000!). With so many articles published this year, we have compiled a list of the top 20 most read to round off 2018.

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Action on Invasives short course on classical weed biological control

Donna Hutchinson1 Comment
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Zygogramma bicolorata, often referred to as ‘The Parthenium Beetle’ feeds on the leaves of Parthenium and is already being used as a biocontrol in a number of countries

Invasive species pose a serious threat to food security, biodiversity, water resources, human and animal health, and economic development. It is widely acknowledged that integrated control is the most effective strategy in managing invasive plants where it involves the use of herbicides, manual or mechanical control, and biological control agents in an integrated way. Last month, a short course on invasion biology and classical biological control of weeds was delivered at CABI in Pakistan.

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Parthenium awareness campaign reaches urban population in Islamabad

Umair SafdarLeave a comment

Parthenium in Pakistan

In Pakistan, the highly invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus is not only a problem for rural areas, in fact it is of equal concern for urban residents as well. Known locally as ‘Gajar Booti’, Parthenium is a major pest of both cropped and non-cropped areas of Pakistan, causing severe economic, environmental, and health-related problems.

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