Battling weeds with biocontrol

In Aotearoa we talk a lot about mammalian predators attacking our native wildlife, but other insidious pests are quietly taking over – weedy plants. Tackling these weeds using chemical and mechanical means only gets us so far, so researchers and conservationists also look towards the plants’ natural enemies to help. Claire Concannon visits a group of Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research scientists investigating biocontrol agents to assist in the fight.