ABSTRACT
Under a research contract with the University of Florida, and in cooperation with the Florida Office of Water Resources, all of the major lakes and rivers of Florida have been surveyed for diseases of water hyacinths. Research thus far has resulted in the discovery of several diseases which could provide biological control of water hyacinth. The most promising of all diseases for biological control of water hyacinths has been found in Rodman Reservoir, near Jacksonville, Florida. During the past several years, it has been observed that serious disease conditions of water hyacinth are generally associated with various insect injuries to the plant. During the last half of April 1973, a survey was made in Argentina and Uruguay in search of diseases of water hyacinth. Initial results of field studies to assess the potential of domestic isolates of Cephalosporium zonatum and Rhizoctonia solani as biocontrols for water hyacinth were very encouraging.
