Rhizome viability test to be patented
JKSL Research and Development are developing a novel technique to identify cell death in Japanese Knotweed rhizome. The patentable procedure, first muted in October 2007 following discussions with fellow academics at Lancaster University, will involve a chemical stain, robust and consistent enough to be applied in the field across a large number of samples and will give an accurate indication of when cell death occurs.
The benefits of this technique will be two fold; an accurate tool to determine when eradication has been successful will enable developers to make more informed choices, allowing them to produce more robust build timetables, whilst also reducing cost, risk and building delays by pin pointing exactly when the plant is no longer viable on a given site.
Additionally, the concurrent reduction in herbicide applications associated with more efficient eradication of Japanese Knotweed falls in line with recent EU legislation aimed at reducing environmental pesticide exposure. With an increasingly environmentally aware public, where ‘being seen to be green’ is a distinct competitive advantage, the bonuses associated with this technique and other environmentally driven projects at JKSL, will improve client environmental credentials by association.
Dr Emma Morley, April 2008
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