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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Lauderdale, Florida » Invasive Plant Research Laboratory » Research » Research Project #441627

Research Project: Biological Control of Weeds Endemic to Southeast Asia and Australia that are Invasive in the United States

Location: Invasive Plant Research Laboratory

Project Number: 6032-22000-013-002-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jun 1, 2022
End Date: Aug 31, 2024

Objective:
Discover and develop biological control agents for invasive terrestrial and aquatic weeds, with emphasis on those invasive to Florida.

Approach:
Proposed travel of staff within Australasia, SE Asia, and China to a range of habitats to identify, collect and evaluate potential biological control agents of target invasive weeds in consultation with the ARS PI. Current targets will include the climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum, melaleuca, Melaleuca quinquenvia, earleaf acacia, Acacia auriculiformis, waterfern, Azolla pinnata, and Chinese tallow, Triadica sebifera. Promising candidate agents will be shipped to U.S. cooperators for further study and development at U.S. quarantine facilities.