Biocontrol

In 2019, Mitta to Murray Blackberry Action Group (M2MBAG) partnered with Meat and Livestock Australia, Agriculture Victoria, and CSIRO in a very exciting project to identify insects that live on blackberry that may be suitable biological control agents in Australia. This partnership has come about thanks to the many years that blackberry action groups have been raising the profile of blackberry as a public and environmental enemy, and the number of land owners joining the groups.

Agriculture Victoria’s Senior Research Scientist of Pests and Diseases Dr Raelene Kwong joined M2MBAG and is actively researching blackberry bio-control.

In 2019, Raelene Kwong and Franz Mahr travelled to France, Corsica and Portugal to continue investigations into possible insect bio-controls originally started 35 years ago by E. Bruzzese. They brought back 904 blackberry and rosa canes, from which Leah Raco, at Agri-bio Victoria, was able to extract DNA for 60 insects. Three of these – a stem boring wasp, a galling wasp and a stem boring beetle - appeared to be very promising candidates as potential biological control workers.

The next steps were to identify potentially susceptible Australian rosa species (raspberry, loganberry, garden roses etc.) and arrange for them to be grown in the research garden at the CSIRO facility at Montpellier in France. This will expose them to potential attack by the identified wasps and beetle. If that test is passed (they are not attacked), then further safety quarantine and trialling processes would follow in France and Australia.

It is important to note that biological control agents like insects are not going to eradicate blackberry, but they may reduce the spread by slowing their vigorous growth and vegetative reproduction methods, like daughter plants and seed viability.