Research and extension faculty with UF/IFAS have reached successful completion of the five-year Air Potato Biological Control Extension Program. This program began in 2014 as an initiative by the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center and the UF/IFAS Extension St. Lucie County in collaboration with Extension offices and partner agencies throughout Florida. The focus of the project involved the statewide introduction of air potato leaf beetles, Lilioceris cheni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), and teaching residents how to use the insect to manage the invasive air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera). Floridians struggled to control this invasive vine which can grow up to eight inches per day and smother native vegetation. This UF/IFAS research and extension program was paired with a mass rearing effort and distribution process that helped citizens throughout Florida. Researchers at USDA ARS are credited for discovering L. cheni as a viable biological control agent for air potato.

Downloads: Please contact the photographer for highest resolution photos of air potato leaf beetles.
Email Ken Gioeli

Project Resources
UF/IFAS Air Potato Biological Control Website

The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With offices in each of Florida’s 67 counties, UF/IFAS Extension works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.

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