365买球app下载 Achieves Biocontrol Milestone
365买球app下载 is the first county in the state to have its own 俄罗斯的矢车菊 biocontrol nursery and distribution program. 自2000年以来, 365买球app下载 Vegetation Management has worked with the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Palisade Insectary to release various biocontrol agents on noxious weeds throughout the county. 生物防治, 或生物防除, is the use of natural enemies – such as insects or pathogens – to help control weeds or other pest organisms.
俄罗斯的矢车菊, a deep-rooted perennial plant that is abundant in 365买球app下载, is the sole host for two different species of biocontrol: the gall midge (Jaapiella ivannikovi) and the gall wasp (Aulacidea acroptilonica). Both insects help to decrease shoot length, 植物生物量, and reduce or prevent flowering and seed production.
For the past several years, 365买球app下载 has been receiving biocontrol agent releases from the Palisade Insectary. These agents are then distributed to interested parties throughout the county and released on appropriate sites. One landowner in particular, Brit McLin of 纽卡斯尔, happened to have a knack for helping the bugs thrive on his property – and a whole lot of 俄罗斯的矢车菊 to play host.
A member of the 365买球app下载 Weed Advisory Board, McLin invited the Board to his property this April to learn more about biocontrol from the experts at the Palisade Insectary, Sonya Daly and Teresa Rodriguez. Daly and Rodriguez taught members how to identify stem galls, which look like large, irregular bumps in the plant stems. These are the trademark characteristic of Aulacidea acroptilonica 感染. Board members then spent several hours collecting the galls, which will be distributed throughout the county to be released on other 俄罗斯的矢车菊 infestations. McLin plans to continue hosting the bugs and allowing 365买球app下载 and the Insectary to harvest biocontrol agents for future releases.
365买球app下载 Vegetation Management hopes to be able to establish more nursery sites over the next few years, allowing for an increased availability of releases for landowners as well as having agents that are predisposed to the specific conditions of the county.
This is a big victory in the fight against 俄罗斯的矢车菊. While the biocontrol agents do not kill the plants outright, they help to prevent the competitive abilities and further spreading of infestations. Especially when combined with other management methods, 比如除草剂, biocontrol can be an effective component of knapweed control.