Opal Reserve tackles prickly situation

Pip Sokol and Jared Smith from Crown Lands with General Manager of the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve, Dave Sullivan (centre), at the Hudson pear biocontrol facility in Lightning Ridge. Photo supplied

Story: Kristin Murdock – kmurdock@outbackradio.com.au

Lightning Ridge is continuing to strengthen its position as one of the state’s key centres for Hudson pear control, with a purpose-built biological control facility driving one of the largest local release programs undertaken to date.

The operation focuses on breeding and distributing a specialised strain of cochineal, a tiny insect used to target Hudson pear, particularly the brown Hudson pear that has spread aggressively across the opal fields and surrounding country.

General Manager of the Lightning Ridge Area Opal Reserve, Dave Sullivan, said the program has expanded significantly in response to the scale of the infestation and the need for coordinated, long-term control. […]

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