Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., November 21, 2008 Cheshvan 23, 5769 | | Israel Time: 13:52 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
A eucalyptus grove near Beit Dagan. (Alon Ron)
Last update - 00:00 24/07/2007
Israeli researchers discover bug that saves eucalyptus groves
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: בועז יונה, ציפי לבני 

A tiny wasp that has ravaged eucalyptus groves in the Mediterranean Basin, Africa and the Far East, and which arrived in Israel a few years ago, has proven anew that no organism is eternally dominant.

Israeli researchers have found a predator one millimeter in length called Closterocerus, which thwarts the wasp's advance.

Several nations have already turned to Israel for information about this natural adversary. David Brand, head of the Jewish National Fund's (JNF) Department of Forestry and Development, says, "Six years ago, two species of wasps were discovered to create galls [abnormal swellings of plant tissue], thus damaging eucalyptus leaves: the Leptocybe invasa, which damages new leaves, and the Ophelimus maskelli, which damages mature leaves. Both wasps subject eucalyptus trees to continuous attack."
Advertisement

The wasps reproduce on eucalyptus leaves, blanketing them and causing the leaves to fall. The wasps spread "like wildfire," according to David Brand, halting the trees' growth.

In Israel, the wasps are prevalent from the Southern Golan Heights in the North to the Western Negev Desert in the South. They also attack eucalyptus groves in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Kenya and South Africa, and there are reports of damage to trees in Vietnam, India and Thailand.

Massive damage to eucalyptus trees compelled a team of JNF-funded scientists to launch research three years ago to identify the pest's biological adversaries. Professor Zvi Mendel of the Agriculture Ministry's Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Dr. Alex Protasov, Dr. Zion Madar, Nitza Sapir and David Brand traveled to Australia to find the wasp's natural enemy. There, they were assisted by Dr. John La Salle and Joe Krycer, a member of JNF-Australia. "It was like finding a needle in a haystack," Brand says, "because there are dozens of pests and dozens of predators."

After they found leaf tissue scarred by galls like those that developed in Israel, they took samples and sent them to Israel. Here, researchers followed the development of wasp larvae that emerged from the galls and the development of the wasp's predator, which hatched from the leaves at the same time. The scientists closely observed the Closterocerus to ensure that they only preyed on the wasps' eggs and larvae and did not damage other insects.

After a year of testing the predator's behavior, researchers received approval from the Agriculture Ministry Plant Protection and Inspection Services to release the Closterocerus into Israel's forests. This approval only applies to Ophelimus maskelli wasps, as it is still unclear that Closterocerus can control Leptocybe invasa wasps without damaging other species.

"There has been palpable reduction of the damage done by Ophelimus maskelli," says Brand. "According to reports, its predator naturally migrated to Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey."

Nations located farther from Israel requested that the Israeli research team send the predator to them. South Africa, a nation with commercial eucalyptus groves that feed its wood and paper industries, recently turned to Israel for assistance. Professor Mendel also received requests for help from India and Thailand.

"In India and Thailand, eucalyptus groves are gravely threatened by the wasp," says Brand. "This represents tremendous financial damage. In commercial forestry, damage in cents per dunam determines the size of income."

Israeli experts in this field recently traveled to Thailand and will soon leave for South Africa.

Prized for its rapid growth believed to dry wetlands, the Australian native eucalyptus tree was planted in Israel extensively throughout the 19th and 20th century, as well as many other areas of the world.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
The King is dead
Archeologists find new evidence for King Herod's tomb site.
Al-Hasbara
Israel launches Arabic YouTube channel to bypass Arab media.
  1.   Why would anyone want to save Eucalyptus groves? 08:12  |  Colin Wright 24/07/07
  2.   Colin Wrong 09:14  |  Hannah 24/07/07
  3.   #1 10:09  |  Marco 24/07/07
  4.   boycott boycott boycott 10:18  |  amos 24/07/07
  5.   Zionist Conspiracy 11:10  |  SM 24/07/07
  6.   Gall infection of Eucalyptus in India 11:46  |  Dr.D.M.Laxmikanth 25/03/08
  7.   Eucalyptus gall wasp 07:25  |  L.G.Bhat 28/05/08
  8.   Gall formation 13:38  |  Dr. R C Dhiman 21/11/08
 Read & React
20,000 Jewish pilgrims to descend on Hebron amid settler violence
Responses: 63
Experts argue: How close is Iran to its first nuclear weapon?
Responses: 51
Bradley Burston: Debate over Museum of Tolerance - an exchange
Responses: 7
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo: The Palestinian people need Obama's help
Responses: 8
Gideon Levy: Israeli left was born in sin and died because of a lie
Responses: 15


More Headlines
12:46 20,000 Jewish pilgrims to descend on Hebron amid settler violence
12:36 Qassam hits industrial zone near Ashkelon; no injuries
03:56 ANALYSIS / A state within a state has arisen in the territories
10:18 Israel wastes 250 million shekels on settlement roads to nowhere
10:25 Video / Israeli Prof. Avi Shlaim: Settlements turned Israel into apartheid state
11:58 U.S. Jews, Muslims launch unprecedented drive against anti-Semitism, xenophobia
13:32 U.S. global power to decline in coming decades, intelligence report says
23:57 Arise Sir Shimon: Peres receives honorary knighthood from Britain's Queen
04:34 For now, Israel and Hamas both seek to maintain Gaza calm
23:25 Experts argue: How close is Iran to its first nuclear weapon?
11:35 Makeover planned for Hitler`s `strength through joy` complex-turned-hotel
05:22 Restoration of Lebanon synagogue in danger despite rare Hezbollah support
06:20 Treasury under pressure to provide safety net for pensions
05:43 Holon man loses job for opposing Shas, says lawyer
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Living in Israel Studying in English
Click & Meet our students from all around the world
Dan Boutique Jerusalem
New Dan Hotel in Jerusalem Young, Fun & Distinctively Dan Book Now Online!
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Car rental in Israel
Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
Dial 013 for your long-distance calls
and get all your money back
US CITIZENS
Vote for real change. Request your ballot today!
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
www. israel-property.com
Hebrew Summer courses
From $39.95
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved