NEOCHETINA BRUCHI, A BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENT FOR WATER HYACINTH: HOST-SPECIFICITY TESTING IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA

摘要

The weevil Neochetina bruchi Hustache is a biological control agent of the aquatic weed water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. This paper presents plant species used for host-specificity testing by research institutes in Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Many species of tropical and subtropical plants not tested elsewhere were included in the studies. N. bruchi is a commonly-used biological control agent of water hyacinth and is possibly the most effective agent, especially in high nutrient waters. So far the agent has been introduced and has become established in at least 23 countries (2). Early research on the host-specificity of the insect was performed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and theIndian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) and the results were reviewed by Harley (1). In a collaborative research effort on biological control of water hyacinth in South-East Asia (3), Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam conducted separate host-specificity testing of N. bruchi under quarantine conditions. Many plants previously tested for the USA and India were repeated; however, many of importance in the tropics of Asia and the Pacific were tested for the first time and listed below. Plants are listed below alphabetically, rather than grouped by family, to aid locating particular species.