To support research and release of imported natural enemies for biological control of exotic insect pests and noxious weeds.

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES)/Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Containment Facility (hereafter termed "the quarantine facility") had been in the planning stage for over 10 years. Dr. David Ragsdale from the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota (UMN) and Dr. Dharma Sreenivasam (retired) at the MDA had made fundamental contributions to the planning and construction of this facility. This biosafety level 2 (BL2) quarantine facility:

• Was built by the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences (COAFES) and the MAES of the UMN;
• Was opened in May 2003;
• Is jointly operated by the COAFES of the UMN and the Agricultural Resources Management and Development Division (ARMD) of the MDA;
• Is licensed to the MDA by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); and
• Is the only facility of its kind in the Midwest.

Biological Control and Quarantine

• Why are invasive species important?
• What is classical biological control?
• What is quarantine?
• Why do we need the quarantine facility?

Jo Barta conducting host range testing of soybean aphid parasitoids introduced from Asia.

Dr. Jeanie Katovich introducing the garlic mustard biocontrol program to USFS Chief, Dale Bosworth, and other researchers.

MDA Contact

Zhishan Wu, Ph.D., Quarantine Officer
Zhishan.Wu@state.mn.us
MAES/MDA Plant Growth Facilities East, University of Minnesota
Room 102, 1907 Dudley Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108
612-625-3779 (office) • 612-626-3568 (facility) • 612-626-6411 (fax)