ABSTRACT
In Puerto Rico, the main aquatic plant problem areas are along the north side of the island from Rio Grande to Arecibo. A control program is needed for aquatic weed problems in Puerto Rico. Water weeds support many parasite and disease organisms including malaria, encephalitis, filariasis, liver flukes, and disease-pest arthropods. In the interest of national health, these problems must be dealt with throughout Central America and the Gulf Coast of the US Insects have been used successfully as a form of biological control to suppress alligator weed in Florida and other states of the Southeast under the Corps of Engineers Aquatic Plant Control Program. The Rio Grande de Loiza is the most prominent river in Puerto Rico. Its drainage area, the largest in Puerto Rico, is about 18 km. The drainage area of the Rio de Bayamon originates in the central mountain interior of Puerto Rico where small tributaries collect at Cidra Reservoir before emerging into a narrow valley.
