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A government minister has announced that in an effort to control Japanese knotweed, they will be trialling this spring the release of a tiny insect that naturally preys on the plant and supposedly nothing else.
Japanese knotweed, introduced by the Victorians as an ornamental plant soon became rampant throughout Britain. It grows more than a metre a month, swamps any other vegetation in its path and can break up stone and concrete surfaces and walls. Removal of the plant is both expensive and difficult.
Scientists say that the plant is common in Japan but does not rage out of control thanks to the natural predators that keep it in check. They selected a psyllid, aphalara itadori, as the best method of control after testing it on ninety different British plant species. This little insect feeds on the sap of the knotweed, stunting its growth.
One scientist has said that, ‘...a contingency plan is in place so that should, in the unlikely event, any unintended consequences be detected, we will be able to do something about it’.
Let’s hope he is right. Experience over the last hundred years has shown that deliberate introduction of some pests to combat other pests has often been a complete disaster - as witness the Cane Toad in Australia.
Let’s hope they really do know what they are doing!
.
A government minister has announced that in an effort to control Japanese knotweed, they will be trialling this spring the release of a tiny insect that naturally preys on the plant and supposedly nothing else.
Japanese knotweed, introduced by the Victorians as an ornamental plant soon became rampant throughout Britain. It grows more than a metre a month, swamps any other vegetation in its path and can break up stone and concrete surfaces and walls. Removal of the plant is both expensive and difficult.
Scientists say that the plant is common in Japan but does not rage out of control thanks to the natural predators that keep it in check. They selected a psyllid, aphalara itadori, as the best method of control after testing it on ninety different British plant species. This little insect feeds on the sap of the knotweed, stunting its growth.
One scientist has said that, ‘...a contingency plan is in place so that should, in the unlikely event, any unintended consequences be detected, we will be able to do something about it’.
Let’s hope he is right. Experience over the last hundred years has shown that deliberate introduction of some pests to combat other pests has often been a complete disaster - as witness the Cane Toad in Australia.
Let’s hope they really do know what they are doing!
.
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