Project Number: 6204-22000-019-12
Project Type: Specific C/A

Start Date: Dec 01, 2007
End Date: Jan 22, 2010

Objective:
Conduct a survey in Israel of the herbivores associated with Arundo donax (giant reed) which is native to Israel and is an invasive weed in the Rio Grande River Basin of Texas and northern Mexico.

Approach:
The overall goal of this project is to survey the native range of A. donax in Israel to document the herbivore insects in this part of the Eastern Mediterranean. Surveys will be undertaken undertaken monthly for a period of 6 months on the Mediterranean coastal plain near Tel Aviv and in the Jordan River Valley. Natural enemies will be curated, identified, and shipped to ARS in Weslaco for comparison to A. donax insects imported from Spain, France, and Crete. Should promising candidates for biological control be identified, then the agreement could be extended to conduct specific laboratory and field studies of the candidate species.