Principal source: Pacific Island Ecosystem at Risk (PIER) Morella faya
Compiler: IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG)
Review: Dr. Lloyd Loope, Station Leader HFS: Haleakala Field Station Maui Hawaii
Publication date: 2006-03-23
Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Morella faya. Downloaded from http://iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=100 on 08-12-2024.
Physical: Introduced frugivorous birds and feral pigs are important dispersal agents of fire tree seeds, management options should include control of these dispersal agents to limit further spread. Goats can also be used to control the fire tree.
Chemical: Herbicide is the primary tool used for fire tree. Roundup (Glysophate based herbicide) was found to be the most efficient herbicidal treatment because of its effectiveness in undiluted form and through its rapid absorption rate (30-40 minutes). Research results concluded that injection of undiluted Roundup provided the least exposure to nearby non-target species. Environmental soundness is related to the chemical’s rapid inactivation in the soil by micro-organisms. In its undiluted form, Roundup can be used in small quantities (5-10 ml per tree). Tordon 22K was also effective in small quantities of undiluted form, however, absorption rate was intermediate (24-48 hours). Kuron absorption rate was slow (more than 1 week). Treatment of undiluted Roundup or Tordon 22K allowed for the reduction in treatment quantity. The smaller quantities of treatments necessary due to the elimination of a solution reduced the amount of total treatment needed out in the field, therefore reducing labour and transportation costs. The absorption rate of Roundup allowed for the rapid re-use of tube sections, which affected the amount of equipment needed in the field. Also, the absorption rate (30-40 minutes) allowed the field workers to leave the site shortly after application allowing for quicker site-to-site application. Injection of undiluted Roundup provided the least exposure to nearby non-target species.
Biological: A moth Caloptilia sp. nr. schinella a native of the Azores and Madeira Islands in the eastern Atlantic where its natural host is M. faya was released in Hawai‘i in 1991 as a potential biological control agent (Markin, 2002).
Phyllonorycter myricae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) is also under investigation as a possible biological control agent at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry laboratory, Volcano, Hawai‘i.
Botrytis cinerea is the first pathogen to be reported on the fire tree and is reported to cause widespread fruit rot. Fruit rot has been observed on trees of all sizes in a variety of habitats throughout the Hawai‘ian range. The authors of this study suggest that the selection of more aggressive strains or the introduction of large numbers of Botrytis-infested insect vectors early in the fruiting season may assist in enhancing biocontrol of the fire tree (Duffy and Gardner, 1994). The infected fruit were also found to be less attractive to birds, therefore lessening the spread of firetree (Seibold, 2000). Septoria hodgesii sp. nov a common fungal leaf pathogen of Myrica cerifera in the southeastern U. S has been identified as a potential biocontrol agent as it has been shown (by artificial inoculation) to be pathogenic on M. faya (Gardner, 1999).