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Article: Science Update.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Agricultural Research
- Article date:
- November 1, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Reunion With Weevils Could Sink a Water Weed
South American weevils might help stop the spread of salvinia, an invasive water weed also native to that continent. The Cyrtobagous salviniae weevils might reduce the need for chemical controls against salvinia in warm-weather areas of the United States. They have done just that in some other countries plagued by the weed, including Australia, South Africa, and India. Last summer, scientists with ARS and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department released hundreds of the tiny black weevils in a salvinia-infested pond, lake, and reservoir near Jasper, Texas.
Leaves of the weed, Salvinia molesta, can form mats ...