Proceedings

Soil Dwelling Pests

Control of soil dwelling pests is one of the most difficult problems in pest management today, and development of environmentally friendly, sustainable control measures for these pests has become a major challenge for researchers in recent years. Microbial control using insect pathogens provides a promising approach.

These proceedings* contain 23 papers presented at the 4th International Workshop on Microbial Control of Soil Dwelling Pests, which was held in Lincoln, New Zealand in February 1998. There is a series of three papers on prospects for microbial control of scarabs, and one each on prospects for microbial control of Vespula wasps and soil pests in oil-seed rape, respectively. Three papers consider synergistic interactions between insecticides and pathogens, and between different pathogens. There was a paper describing a national survey for diseases of a grass pest, and another on epidemiological models. A major theme to emerge from the workshop was the increasing use of biotechnology in the management of soil dwelling pests. The uses of molecular biology in microbial control ranged from techniques for identifying and monitoring pathogen populations in the environment (three papers) to inserting microbial genes into plants (four papers). The use of attractants in microbial control was covered in three papers. A number of issues were addressed in single papers: how entomopathogens evade insect defence mechanisms, soil moisture effects, and microbial agents as part of integrated control.

It became clear during the workshop that the development of microbial controls is a complex process, and success is likely to be most easily achieved through interaction between research groups. The purpose of this volume is to stimulate multidisciplinary research and international cooperation to advance the use of microbes for the control of this important group of insect pests.

*O'Callaghan, M.; Jackson, T.A. (1999) Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Microbial Control of Soil Dwelling Pests, Lincoln, New Zealand,
17-19 February 1998.

Obtainable from: Trevor Jackson,
AgResearch Lincoln, PO Box 60,
Lincoln, New Zealand
Email: jacksont@agreasearch.cri.nz
Fax: +64 3 325 2946

Water Hyacinth Workshop

The First IOBC (International Organization of Biological Control) Working Group Meeting for the Biological and Integrated Control of Water Hyacinth was held at St Lucia Park, Harare, Zimbabwe on 16-19 November 1998 [see BNI 20(1), 14N (March 1999)].The proceedings of this meeting, which brought together 47 delegates from 20 countries and included the key figures and organizations in water hyacinth research and biological control, have now been published*.

The proceedings comprise 27 refereed papers and three abstracts. Reports from different countries at different stages in the process of implementing biological control mean that the proceedings provides the complete picture of how water hyacinth is brought under biological control. There are papers from countries who have recently initiated programmes, from those monitoring the progress of releases, from those with established programmes where new agents or integrated options for better or faster control are being assessed, and finally from those where biological control is considered successful and only long-term monitoring is being conducted.

In amongst the country reports, many broader topics are covered. Techniques for release and post release evaluation of natural enemies, and mass production and inundative release are described. Research on new natural enemies is highlighted, including both insects and pathogens, and work to integrate them with other natural enemies and other management techniques is described. Progress on identifying agents attacking different growth stages is summarized, and there is a discussion on how to evaluate acceptable levels for host specificity. Environmental effects, including the impact of eutrophic waters, are dealt with. The need for an integrated approach to the control of the weed is highlighted, and the results of some herbicide screening research are summarized. A role for an information network is discussed. Finally, the key questions of how best to structure and manage water hyacinth biological control programmes, and how long biological control of water hyacinth takes are considered.

Biological control of water hyacinth is progressing quickly, as highlighted recently by results from Lake Victoria [see `Harvesters Get That Sinking Feeling', this issue]. These proceedings are an invaluable synthesis of the worldwide status of water hyacinth biological control at the end of the twentieth century.

*Hill, M.P.; Julien, M.H.; Center, T.D. (eds) (2000) Proceedings of the First IOBC Global Working Group Meeting for the Biological and Integrated Control of Water Hyacinth, Harare, Zimbabwe,
16-19 November 1998, 208pp.
Obtainable from: Martin Hill, PPRI,
Private Bag X 134, Pretoria, South Africa, 0001. Price: US$15.00 including postage.
Email: Rietmh@plant2.agric.za