Contribution of biological control in management of water hyacinth

Biological control was foreseen as the long-term strategy for controlling water hyacinth in Uganda. Two species of weevils, Neochetina eichhorniae and Neochetina bruchi were imported into Uganda from Benin (West Africa) in 1993. A total of 600 weevils of each species were imported. The weevils were tested for specificity using key agricultural crops including maize, beans and bananas and were found to be water-hyacinth specific for their food and reproduction.