Recently, a paper published in the journal Biological Control Science and Technology describes that researchers will control the invasive plant sand jujube by releasing a mite that is native to the jujube.
Elaeagnus angustifolia is a small deciduous tree native to southeastern Europe and Asia. In the 19th century, European settlers began to bring it into the United States and Canada as a shade tree and windbreak. Since then, it has spread to many U.S. states and Canadian provinces, where it has crowded out native plants, reduced nesting sites for birds, altered soil chemistry, and otherwise disrupted the ecological balance.
Beginning in 2007, an international team of scientists from the International Centre for Agricultural and Biological Sciences (CABI), the University of Belgrade in Serbia, and the University of Ferdowsi in Iran began exploring the use of mites to control jujube trees.
More specifically, the researchers studied a mite called Aceria angustifoliae, which occurs naturally in the plant's native origin. Every spring, arachnids feed on the buds, flowers and fruits of the jujube plant. Depending on the extent of the damage, this activity may kill plants, or at least slow down their growth rate.
In outdoor experiments conducted in Iran and CABI's home country of Switzerland, it was determined that A. The target range of angustifoliae mites is narrow, most likely preying only on dates under natural field conditions.
A date tree damaged by Aceria angustifoliae mite infestation
Based on these findings, CABI teamed up with two scientists in 2019 — Dr. Rosemarie De Clerck-Floate of the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Dr. Tim Collier of the University of Wyoming — to petition for the release of mites. North America. Under the authority of the Plant Protection Act of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has now approved this to happen in Canada.
Hopefully, the first release will take place next spring, possibly starting in British Columbia and Alberta, where wild dates are particularly problematic.
Dr Philip Weyl of CABI believes that "allowing the release of Aceria angustifoliae in Canada is an important step towards viable biological control of dates in Canada and possibly in time for other parts of North America".