Author
Andrew J McConnachie
andrew.mcconnachie@dpird.nsw.gov.au
NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
Orange
Coauthors
Royce H. Holtkamp, Horizon Ecological Consulting, Kendall, Australia
Peter Jones, CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Canberra, Australia
Michael D. Day, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia
Pete Turner, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Orange, Australia
Jason Callander, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia
Zachary Shortland, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia
Susan Ivory, Landscape South Australia, Mount Barker, Australia
Beck Schinghammer, Agriculture Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Bendigo, Australia
Gerald Danoao, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, Northern Territory Government, Palmerston, Australia
Michelle Franklin, Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, Northern Territory Government, Palmerston, Australia
Andrea Fletcher-Dawson, Castlereagh Macquarie County Council, Walgett, Australia
Abstract
Cylindropuntia spp. (Cactaceae) are weeds of arid and semi-arid regions of mainland Australia, with eight species currently recorded as naturalised. A biocontrol programme was initiated in Australia in 1925 for the control of Cylindropuntia imbricata (rope pear), with the introduction of a cochineal, Dactylopius tomentosus (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae). In 2012, exploratory work in the southern United States of America and Mexico yielded 22 novel lineages of D. tomentosus. Of these, six were identified under quarantine conditions as having good impact on each of the eight Cylindropuntia spp. targets in Australia. In 2016, the first of these six lineages (D. tomentosus ‘cholla’ lineage) was approved for release against Cylindropuntia fulgida var. mamillata (boxing glove or coral cactus). Since its release, successful control of C. fulgida var. mamillata has been recorded in Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Western Australia, and South Australia. In 2017, the remaining five lineages were released against Cylindropuntia pallida (Hudson pear), Cylindropuntia prolifera (jumping cholla), Cylindropuntia tunicata (brown-spined Hudson pear), Cylindropuntia kleiniae (Klein’s cholla), Cylindropuntia leptocaulis (pencil cactus), Cylindropuntia spinosior (snake cactus) and C. imbricata. This talk highlights the biocontrol successes and remaining challenges of managing invasive Cylindropuntia spp. in Australia.
keywords
Opuntioid cacti
Highlights
Long-term monitoring of C. fulgida var. mamillata biocontrol sites spanning two years.
Long-term monitoring of C. pallida biocontrol sites spanning 8 years.
Landscape-scale successful biocontrol of various Cylindropuntia spp. in Australia.