CABI scientists have conducted research which is calling for an urgent integrated management strategy, including biological control, to fight the invasive weed Mimosa diplotricha which is threatening livelihoods in eastern and southern Africa.
Dr Arne Witt, lead author of the study published in the journal Bothalia, said that over half of farmers surveyed in the Karonga District of Malawi believe that M. diplotricha significantly reduces crop yields; more than 40 years ago it was already considered to be one of the 76 worst weeds in the world.
The CABI scientists, including Tim Beale and Winnie Nunda working with Dr Lilian Chimphepo of the Malawian Government’s Environmental Affairs Department, sought to establish the current distribution of M. diplotricha in eastern and southern Africa and its impacts on livelihoods in northern Malawi.
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