A study led by C·I·B Core Team member, Brian van Wilgen, found that clearing efforts by the Working for Water programme have only reached about 14% of the estimated invaded area in South Africa, and that alien plant invasions continued to grow when assessed at a national scale.
A review of the economic benefits arising from the biological control of invasive alien plants has confirmed that the practice continues to deliver very attractive returns on investment.
Host plant compatibility and underground storage capacity do not explain the resistance of creeping prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) to damage caused by the biocontrol cochineal scale insect Dactylopius opuntiae.
A paper published in the journal Biological Control showed that leaf-feeding beetles may be one of South Africa’s most promising biocontrol agents for famine weed.
The South African biocontrol programme for invasive Tamarix has begun, with host-specificity testing of Tamarisk beetles. This news comes from a recent review article by Dr Danica Marlin, C·I·B Core Team Member Prof Marcus Byrne and colleagues, all from the University of the Witwatersrand.