[CABI 20 July 2009] The Japanese Knotweed Research Project Board has launched a public consultation on the viability of releasing a non-native biological control agent to combat Japanese knotweed in Great Britain. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is an invasive plant brought to the UK in the mid 19th Century as a highly-prized ornamental plant. Since then, it has become a serious problem in a range of habitats - particularly roadsides, riverbanks and derelict land - displacing native flora and causing structural damage. Costs of eradicating the plant from Great Britain have been estimated at £1.56 billion.
Research by CABI, a not-for-profit organisation, has demonstrated that a non-native sap-sucking psyllid, Aphalara itadori, is highly specific to Japanese knotweed and shows good potential for its control in Great Britain. A six-year project has found that the introduction of the psyllid could result in a significant decrease in costs associated with tackling Japanese knotweed conventionally through the use of chemicals and physical removal.
Defra’s Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) is currently considering an application for a licence to release the psyllid.
Interview with CABI scientist Dr Dick Shaw, on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, discussing the potential to control the invasive plant, Japanese knotweed, in the UK using a tiny bug.
*The Japanese Knotweed Research Project Board consists of British Waterways, CABI, Cornwall Council, Defra, the Environment Agency, Network Rail, South West Regional Development Agency and Welsh Assembly Government.