HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Biocontrol of invasive water hyacinth contributes to socioeconomic and health improvements in Africa

In research that will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) in Chicago (July 7-11, 2007), scientists implemented a successful bioeradication program of an invasive water weed in Africas Lake Victoria. Two insect biocontrol species, weevils in the genus Neochetina, were used, along with mechanical removal, to control the highly invasive water hyacinth, which has also plagued waterways in the southern United States. This method of water hyacinth biocontrol, originally researched and implemented in Florida in the 1970s, eliminates or drastically reduces the use of pesticides. In the Lake Victoria region, water hyacinth threatened livelihoods of local communities by reducing fish populations, fouling hydroelectric power turbines, and providing habitats for malaria and schistosomiasis vectors. Similar biocontrol programs have been successfully applied throughout the tropics and subtropics.

Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, is one of the most invasive water weeds in the world. A native of South America, it was spread throughout the tropics and subtropics in the last century, mostly by humans. While the plant can potentially be used for sewage treatment and biofuel production, it can also cause severe environmental and socioeconomic damage.

Dr. James Ogwang, a biocontrol entomologist with the Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization, and his colleagues, implemented a successful program that rid Lake Victoria of the weed. The control strategy integrated mechanical removal and use of two insects that are natural enemies of the weed--weevils in the genus Neochetina--N. bruchi and N. eichhorniae, both natives of South America.

Dr. Ogwangs work on the Lake Victoria water hyacinth eradication program was recently featured on National Geographics television series, Strange Days on Planet Earth. He will be giving a presentation on this work at the annual meeting of the Amer
'"/>

Contact: Brian Hyps
bhyps@aspb.org
240-354-5160
American Society of Plant Biologists
8-Jul-2007


Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. Noninvasive screening in early pregnancy reduces Downs births by 50 percent
2. Study could impact noninvasive treatment of cancer tumors
3. Decoding gene expression in cancer tumors using noninvasive imaging
4. New diagnostic technologies offer non-invasive means
5. Farmed salmon could become an invasive species in forest streams
6. Active lifestyle reduces risk of invasive breast cancer
7. UCR researchers examine how some invasive plants gain a foothold
8. Measuring plant diversity, predicting vulnerability to invasive species
9. Mussels evolve quickly to defend against invasive crabs
10. Ecosystem services and invasive species
11. Novel non-invasive imaging technology may allow precise diagnosis of coronary artery disease

Post Your Comments:
(Date:5/16/2013)... Infections can trigger hematopoiesis at sites outside the bone ... skin.Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich now show that ... medullary" formation of blood cells. , Balanced hematopoiesis is ... fetal development, hematopoiesis takes place mainly in the liver ... the bone marrow, and this tissue normally serves as ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... the gym. But doctors use the human pulse as a ... professor of chemical engineering at Stanford, has developed a heart ... a postage stamp. The flexible skin-like monitor, worn under an ... doctors detect stiff arteries and cardiovascular problems. , The devices ... and provide doctors a safer method of measuring a key ...
(Date:5/15/2013)... that have powerful behavioral effects on diverse organisms ... ecosystems, according to a theory proposed in the ... of the theory, Ryan P. Ferrer of Seattle ... University of California at Los Angeles, liken such ... may be uncommon but exert a controlling influence, ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Herpes infections: Natural killer cells activate hematopoiesis 2Stanford engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin' 2Stanford engineers monitor heart health using paper-thin flexible 'skin' 3Natural 'keystone molecules' punch over their weight in ecosystems 2
(Date:5/17/2013)... a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information ... recent study in Reproductive BioMedicine Online ... with an abnormal chromosomal composition can be identified by ... thereby classifying the risk of genetic abnormality without a ... undertaken a retrospective study, using their predictive model to ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... , May 17, 2013 ... by the most innovative thought leaders of the ... & Manufacturing East conference and expo, from June ...      (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130517/613829 ) , ... designed to deliver industry professionals practical presentations and ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... JOSE, Calif. , May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ ... agreement has been reached with Switzerland ... portfolio of anti-infective human monoclonal antibody (mAb) products, ... anti-infective human mAb products for treatment of infections ... of Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... 2013 The paradigm of ‘one drug, ... that can help predict the adverse and therapeutic effects ... Head of Computational Biology at the Genomics Laboratory, Covance, ... ensure high-quality genomics when used as part of the ... complex data sets to identify key clinical targets even ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Breakthrough for IVF? 2Breakthrough for IVF? 3MedTech Innovate Seminars: New Interactive Learning Forums at 2013 MD&M East 2Aridis Pharmaceuticals Announces Acquisition of Monoclonal Antibody Products and Technologies From Kenta Biotech 2Aridis Pharmaceuticals Announces Acquisition of Monoclonal Antibody Products and Technologies From Kenta Biotech 3
Cached News: