Weed Biocontrol Issue 80
In this issue
![SFF-thumb](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0007/141739/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Three Successes with Sustainable Farming Fund
Three biocontrol projects will receive a much needed boost thanks to success in the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) round announced by the Ministry for Primary Industries in March this year.
![Tustan Action Group Members of the Tutsan Action Group at the field day in Taumarunui in February 2017, where the first releases of tutsan agents were made. From left to right: Geoff Burton, Dave Alker, Graham Wheeler (Chair), Hugh Gourlay, Craig Davey, David Jurgensen, Rosalind Burton (Secretary).](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0014/141107/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Tutsan Agents Released
An excited group of Taumarunui farmers gathered at a field day in February to make the first releases of two biocontrol agents that will hopefully, over time, be able to rein in tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum).
![Giant reed wasp Giant reed wasp ovipositing,](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0010/141103/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Tiny Insects to Tackle Giant Reed
In January the Environmental Protection Authority approved the release of two new biocontrol agents to tackle a new target in New Zealand, giant reed (Arundo donax).
![Chilean mayten flowers Close up of foliage and female flowers.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0006/141099/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Chilean Mayten - A Ticking Time-Bomb?
Chilean Mayten is an evergreen tree which "appears to be a ticking time-bomb with real potential to become a major environmental weed throughout New Zealand", particularly around Canterbury.
![Dog weed detection Rusty and John looking for velvetleaf in fodder beet in Southland.](https://oldwww.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/image/0008/141101/varieties/thumb200.jpg)
Dogs Offer a New Approach to Weed Detection
Fiona Thomson, an ecologist with Landcare Research, has been investigating whether dogs could be used as a tool to detect new and emerging weeds in the landscape.