Biological control of Chromolaena odorata in Papua New Guinea

摘要

The status of the biological control of Chromolaena odorata in Papua New Guinea is reviewed. An ACIAR-funded project on the biological control of chromolaena began in 1997 in collaboration with the Papua New Guinea National Agricultural Research Institute and Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines. Two agents have so far been introduced and both have established. The moth Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata, which was introduced from Guam in 1999, has established only in the Markham Valley, Morobe Province, despite being released in eight provinces. The gall fly Cecidochares connexa was introduced from the Philippines in 2001 and has established in six of the ten provinces in which it has been released. At some sites where it established, up to 20 galls per plant have been recorded and the insect spread up to 7 km from the release site within 18 months. Rearing of P. pseudoinsulata is continuing with the view to achieving establishment in other provinces of PNG, while the fly is currently being field collected for re-distribution by provincial officers. Two other agents, the leaf-mining fly Calycomyza eupatorivora and the stem-boring weevil Lixus aemulus, both of which were tested in South Africa, will be imported into PNG in the future. The project concludes in 2005 and it is hoped that these two new biocontrol agents can be released and will establish in all chromolaena-infested provinces.