Posted on 09/12/2005 8:01:29 PM PDT by WestTexasWend
PENSACOLA - The cactus moth was hailed in the 1920s for stopping the prickly pear cactus from overrunning the Australian Outback, where the spiny plant had been imported from its native South America as a natural cattle fencing but got out of hand
(snip)
Its success as a biological pest control, however, has boomeranged. The insect later was used against prickly pear in other places, including the Caribbean. It was just a short hop to the Florida Keys in 1989 and then mainland North America.
Scientists now are trying to stop the gray-brown moth from advancing along the Gulf Coast to the Southwest and Mexico, where it could wreak havoc on cactus vital to agriculture, horticulture and the environment.
They have drawn a line in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama, where two experimental methods are being field tested, but Hurricane Katrina may have dealt them a setback last week when it battered Dauphin Island near Mobile, Ala.
(snip)
At stake is what USDA estimates is a $70 million U.S. prickly pear industry, mostly in the Southwest, where cactus is used mainly for landscaping and forage.
In Mexico, people also eat prickly pear fruit, often boiled or pickled. The industry there is valued at $50 million to $100 million, not counting subsistence consumption.
In nature, cactus prevents soil erosion and provides food for birds and wildlife.
(snip)
Meanwhile, the hurricanes so far have had one positive effect by encouraging property owners to let researchers remove storm-damaged cactus.
"The plants were just gnarly, messed up," Hight said. "So, people were glad to get them out of there."
Cactus Moth: http://aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/emerging_pests/cactoblastis
(Excerpt) Read more at gainesville.com ...
Wonder if Kudzu got a similar 'blow' in Mississippi? So far, we can find no use for KUDZU(a native to ASIA)except the occasional entertainment value for late night drunks..where it once was watched grow 2 inches into a man's open windshield in his garage in Miss. overnight to the delight of onlooking bored and drunk revelors...lol
he article:
"... "It is difficult to find where all the cactuses are growing," Carpenter said."
translation:..another 10 million dollars in pork to find all the cactus..GIVE ME A BREAK
Kudzu will probably be the first thing to grow back. ;)
If they're gonna do genetic engineering, why not breed fireants with a fatal, insatiable taste for kudzu?
Kudzu will probably be the first thing to grow back. ;)
If they're gonna do genetic engineering, why not breed fireants with a fatal, insatiable taste for kudzu?
Sorry for the double-post...cable "blinked" on me.
sure. Why not breed a republican congress that has the balls to stand up to the LSM...EVOLUTION? I think not..(wink)
Our ranchers have used it in droughts, but they have to use burners to burn the thorns off before the cattle feed on it.
Other than that, the prickly pear is a pest.
Wonder if they got a moth somewhere that eats mesquite?
And can I have some?
Nopales Salad (prickly pear salad) is delicious!
Nopales Salad
Ingredients:
* 1 kilo (2.2 lbs.) of cactus (nopal) paddles
* 1 onion - halved
* 4 C. water
* 2 Tbsp. salt
* 2 large tomatoes - chopped
* 1 large onion - chopped
* 4 green chiles - chopped
*
How to Prepare:
If the nopales you buy do not already have the thorns removed, do so carefully. I recommend using gloves and a potato peeler to do this.
Once you have removed all thorns, wash and chop the nopales, place in a pan with water, halved onion and salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes.
Drain nopales and add remaining three ingredients. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt if necessary.
I also add garlic. Serve on a tortilla. My kids go nuts for this stuff.
Prickly pear makes a nice jelly, and the juice of its fruit is supposed to be a health food. (At $45 per quart bottle of prickly pear juice, it's a nice racket, too.)
I buy 'em canned so I dont have to worry so much about the thorns.
I hate it when the moths get on my prickly pears.
Beware! Even as we speak, scientists at Texas A&M are studying some South American gnats that they hope will stop the fire ant menace. Apparently, the gnats are the fire ant's natural enemy, killing them by biting them behind the head and sucking the fire ant's brains out.
Only a moron or someone from Oklahoma wants Aggies importing brain sucking gnats into Texas.
OMG! Considering how large the bugs are in Texas, I'd be afraid... very afraid. ;)
I pick up the de-thorned cactus in Mexican supermarkets. They run about 99 cents a piece.
I've tried the canned ones, but they taste pickled to me. My mother-in-law loves the canned ones, though. She scrambles them with eggs and the rest of her family gobbles them up. I guess one's preference is to which one has become accustomed.
I fix 'em like your mother in law. Um..Um.. good.
They do taste pickled.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.