Tectococcus

[MarkP]

I just received the following response from JB Friday:

Dear Mark,

Unfortunately I missed the latest seminar on the strawberry guava biocontrol. The last I heard from Tracy Johnson, the Forest Service scientist in charge of the project, they were doing field trials but not widespread releases. There are a couple of release spots where they are observing the populations of the insect and effects on the strawberry guava. I think Forest Service and the Hawaii Dept. of Ag decided to go slow on the project in view of the public opposition. The insect is not available for public distribution yet. Here's the Forest Service page on strawberry guava control but it does not look like it has been updated lately: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/invasive...erryguava/

Yours,
JB
--
J. B. Friday, PhD
Extension Forester
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
University of Hawaii at Manoa

Komohana Research and Extension Center
875 Komohana St.
Hilo, HI 96720 USA

tel 808 969-8254
fax 808 981-5211
e-mail jbfriday@hawaii.edu
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry
http://www.facebook.com/HawaiiForestryExtension
http://YouTube.com/HawaiiRREA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbfriday

One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on the land is quite invisible to laymen.

- Aldo Leopold, "Round River"

[oink]

Just curious, in a situation where both are competing, which one is dominant, the Strawberry Guava or the Brazilian Pepper (AKA Christmas Berry)? Maybe I should include the Australian Pine (AKA Iron Wood) in that?

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[MarkP]

Alien vs Predator, yay!

I associate Strawberry Guava with wet areas and Christmas Berry with dry areas. I don't know whether that amounts to anything though. If so then depends on wet vs dry.

[oink]

The pepper doesn't mind the wet, although it may be more drought tolerant than the SG.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[MarkP]

Florida recognizes the detrimental impact that Strawberry Guava has on agriculture because it supports fruit flies. They are pursuing the use of tectococcus against SG not to protect native forest but first and foremost to make agriculture more productive.

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojec...ssion.html