Project Number: 5325-22000-025-06
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2010
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
The objective of this cooperative research project is to discover prospective biological control agents of yellow starthistle, Scotch thistle, Russian thistle (tumbleweed) and other weeds of mutual interest in Europe, Asia and Africa, and to conduct experiments to evaluate the host plant specificity and potential efficacy of the more promising species.

Approach:
Explorations will be conducted at different seasons to regions where the target plants are known to occur to collect arthropods and pathogens likely to be host-specific. Specimens will be identified by qualified taxonomists, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA will be done when appropriate. Prospective agents will be evaluated using host specificity experiments to determine if they feed, oviposit, or develop on representative nontarget plants that are likely to be at risk of attack. Further tests under laboratory or field conditions will be conducted when appropriate. Populations of promising agents will be sent to quarantine laboratories in the U.S. to conduct further tests on the most promising agents.