[APWG] FW: Mile-A-Minute, Polygonum perfoliatum

[Marc Imlay]

  _____  

From: Hough-Goldstein, Judith [mailto:jhough at udel.edu] 
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 9:10 AM
To: ialm at erols.com
Cc: ma-eppc at yahoogroups.com; rreardon at fs.fed.us; elake at udel.edu
Subject: Mle-a-minute biological control

 

Mark,

 

With respect to your comment "Bio-control is having mixed success according
to reports", I just want to remind everyone that this is only the third year
the mile-a-minute weevils from China have been in the field, and in fact the
majority of the releases so far were done in 2006, with a few in 2005 and
very few in 2004. Most consisted of relatively few insects. It is normal for
it to take some time before anything definitive can be said about the
effectiveness of an agent - at least 3 years, and sometimes up to 10 years.
The insects take time to build up in numbers, and in some cases they also
need time to adapt to regional conditions. So far we know that the weevils
can establish in a variety of habitats, produce multiple generations during
the season, and disperse readily to new patches. As to impact on the plant
populations, time will tell.

 

Judy Hough-Goldstein

_______________________________

Judy Hough-Goldstein, Professor

Dept. Entomology & Wildlife Ecology

531 South College Ave.

University of Delaware, Newark DE 19716-2160

http://ag.udel.edu/enwc/research/biocontrol/index.htm

 

  _____  

From: Marc Imlay [mailto:ialm at erols.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 9:34 PM
To: 'Aliens-L at indaba.iucn.org'
Subject: Mile-A-Minute, Polygonum perfoliatum

 

 

 

Three of us used garden rakes followed by hand pulling in Little Paint 

Branch Park, Beltsville MD on June 22, 2007 and removed 20% of 

the massive 25' by 100' patch of Mile-Minute in an open area 

in 2 hours. For example, the three volunteers in 15 minutes used 

the rakes very gently to remove about 80% of the Mile-a-Minute 

in a 20' x 20' patch about 50% invasive vine cover over 50% native 

cover including sensitive fern, asters, sycamore and sweet gum 

seedlings and Virginia creeper. The herbaceous natives were not 

damaged and it was then easy enough to hand pull the remainder in 

30 minutes. When we tried to pull very hard at another spot, native 

plants, including a virgin creeper, were damaged. Hand pulling alone 

would have been seen as hopeless and herbicides would have 

damaged the natives. Bio-control is having mixed success according 

to reports. Cheers.

 

Marc Imlay

Laura Malick

Mike Breen 

 

Marc Imlay, PhD

 

Conservation biologist, Anacostia Watershed Society

(301-699-6204, 301-283-0808 301-442-5657 cell)

Board member of the Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council,

Hui o Laka at Kokee State Park, Hawaii

Vice president of the Maryland Native Plant Society,

Chair of the Biodiversity and Habitat Stewardship Committee

for the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club

 

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