Garlic mustard enemy?
-
- February
- 27
I know the woods on my property are full of it every spring. I’m talking about garlic mustard, the thin plant with somewhat triangular leaves and white flowers on top that pops up every year.
As its name suggests, the plant was brought from Europe to the U.S. more than 100 years ago, most likely as a culinary herb. It’s now run amok, threatening native animals and plants. Garlic mustard takes over an area, eliminating opportunities for native plants to grow, which, in turn, endangers wildlife that depends on those plants for food. 
The good news is a University of Illinois researcher has used computer simulations to determine that a tiny weevil may be the best thing to introduce as a biological control agent. The weevil, which passed a selection of tests to make sure it wouldn’t become an invasive pest, would feed on garlic mustard and could be released later this year into an infected forest.
(Photo by Steve Schmitt/TJN)
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 2:49 pm by Mike Risinit.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print
| 
Email
Journal News staff writer Greg Clary writes Earth Watch, reporting on environmental issues in the lower Hudson region. Clary has been a reporter, editor and columnist at the Journal News since 1988 and has covered police and courts, transportation, municipal government, development and the environment in the Lower Hudson Valley, among other topics. 
Laura Incalcaterra covers the environment, open space and zoning and planning issues for The Journal News. A Boston College graduate, Laura grew up in Rockland, attended East Ramapo schools and has worked for The Journal News since 1993. Laura has written features and covered North Rockland, crime, government and a host of other issues.
Mike Risinit covers Patterson and Kent in Putnam County, as well as environmental topics touching on the Hudson River and the Great Swamp. Risinit has been a reporter at The Journal News since 1998.
