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N.C. Policy Collaboratory awards Hemlock Wooly Adelgid funding to NCDA&CS
Story Date: 11/8/2019
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Source: NCDA&CS, 11/7/19
The N.C. Policy Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has awarded $80,000 to the NCDA&CS Plant Industry Division to conduct research and control efforts for the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in western North Carolina. The funds will be used in the rearing, establishment and monitoring of the Laricobius Spp. beetle as a biological control for the adelgid.
The adelgid is a pest that targets the Carolina and Eastern hemlock, a species of tree which occupies parts of the eastern United States ranging from Canada to Alabama. The adelgid kills trees slowly, attaching to the base of the hemlock needle where it feeds on the tree’s starch reserves. Trees can die in as little as four years, dying from the bottom up.
This funding will allow NCDA&CS to rear the beetle as a predator, said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler.
“The beetle will consume all stages of the adelgid, from eggs to nymphs and adults,” Troxler said. “Rearing will take place in the NCDA&CS Biological Control Facility in Cary, and the beetle will then be released periodically at infested sites in western North Carolina.”
The collaboratory supports research related to the management of natural resources in North Carolina, as well as the development of new technologies for habitat, environmental and water quality improvement. The collaboratory also helps develop and disseminate best practices to interested parties, leads and participates in projects across the state related to natural resource management, and makes recommendations to the General Assembly.
For more information on the collaboratory, visit https://collaboratory.unc.edu/ .
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