Researchers from the National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth will attempt to find a biological control method for pine weevils in a €280,000 project funded by COFORD.
The research programme is considered important to the Irish government’s strategic target of growing Ireland’s forest cover from 9% to 17% by 2030. It is also aimed at finding a more eco-friendly way of dealing with the pests than chemical pesticides.
NUI Maynooth and Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology will co-operate in the project. They will study a range of naturally-occurring control methods, including insect-killing nematodes, a parasitic wasp and fungi that decompose stumps – the favoured location for weevil egg-laying.
