Data from: The impact of biocontrol agents on different chemotypes of <i>Melaleuca quinquenervia</i>, an invasive tree in south Florida

Melaleuca quinquenervia saplings were propagated from cuttings of known chemotypes in a screen house and were planted into a common garden at the USDA – ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA on April 4, 2003, when they were 0.5m tall. Plots were located directly adjacent to other plantings of M. quinquenervia which supported high densities of both species of biological control agents Oxyops vitiosa and Boreioglycaspis melaleucae. Experimental trees were continually colonized by insects originating from these populations, as well as from the experimental trees themselves. The prevailing soil type at the field site is Margate fine sand, siliceous hyperthermic Mollic Psammaquent, with less than a 1% percent slope. The experimental design was a complete 2×2×2×6 factorial arranged in a randomized complete block with two herbivore treatments, two chemotype treatments (E-nerolidol or viridiflorol), two irrigation treatments, and six blocks, with the tree as the experimental unit located in the center of each square 56.25m2 plot. Each sapling was planted in the center of a 1m2 plastic mat, which served to suppress weeds. Insecticide treatments consisted of an herbivory control where herbivory by O. vitiosa and B. melaleucae was either restricted by regular applications of an insecticide or not restricted by applications of water. Trees were scouted weekly for O. vitiosa larvae and the insecticide, acephate (OS – dimethyl acetylphosphoromidothiote) was applied as necessary (every 3–6 weeks) at a concentration of 0.367% ai (v/v) until wet using a hand pressurized backpack sprayer. The insecticide concentration and application frequencies neither inhibited nor stimulated plant growth (Tipping and Center 2002). To avoid worker exposures to insecticide, trees were sampled up to two days before each spray application. Water treatments consisted either of natural rainfall or of natural rainfall plus continuous irrigation (irrigation treatment) using drippers that provided a mean flow rate of about 7.5 l h-1 applied to a spot on the soil directly next to the trunk, resulting in continually saturated soil under the drip line of the tree. Precipitation and other abiotic data were captured daily by an automated weather station directly adjacent to the plots. Every 4–6 weeks over a 3-yr period, the number of insects, branch tips, and primary capsule clusters and measured tree heights. Data was collected between May 2003 and October 2006. Winds from hurricane Wilma toppled five trees on October 14, 2005; these trees were removed and their biomass partitioned as below. The trees were maintained according to their herbivory and irrigation treatments until November 2006 when they were felled by cutting just above the soil surface. Biomass was partitioned into trunks (> 2.5 cm diameter) and branches (>1< 2.5 cm diameter). Fresh weights were taken for each component then each component was dried at 50°C for six weeks to obtain dry mass. Percent moisture was obtained by the subtraction of dried mass from fresh mass of each component X 100.Citing from Materials and Methods section of pending publication: The impact of biocontrol agents on different chemotypes of Melaleuca quinquenervia, an invasive tree in south Florida in Biological Control with listed associated authors in 2026.

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  "005:18"
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{
  "fn": "Blaskowski, Blake M.",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:bblaskowski@usf.edu"
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[
  "Boreioglycaspis melaleucae",
  "Melaleuca quinquenervia",
  "Oxyops vitiosa",
  "chemotypes",
  "classical biological control",
  "herbivory",
  "plant growth"
]

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  "005:040"
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  "name": "Agricultural Research Service",
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