Aphalara Itadori decision imminent
The big news for 2010 will be the expected announcement by the Government on the decision to release the Psyllid Aphid as a bio-control agent against Japanese Knotweed. Heralded as the ‘silver bullet’ in the war against Knotweed we at Japanese Knotweed Solutions have some serious concerns about the possible ramifications of this first ever release in the UK.
The Psyllid aphid – Aphalara itadori – (or jumping louse), feeds exclusively on Japanese Knotweed and will both reduce its vigour and gradually deplete its below ground storage organs, making it susceptible to chemical treatment. It won’t kill Japanese Knotweed but it should slow its spread and reduce the viability of the plant, theoretically saving thousands of pounds in treatment costs.
There are obvious concerns, the Cane Toad release in New Zealand or rabbits in Australia, spring to mind. There is no back drop position, once released there are no control measures in place to stop the psyllid from spreading and multiplying. The theory is that the aphid will only predate on Japanese Knotweed and will not damage any of our native species. It should spread throughout the UK and cause problems only for the Knotweed plants.
The release has been subject to a Public Consultation during the latter part of 2009. The consultation document was sent to various agencies throughout the Country as well as being published on the DEFRA website with various links from other bodies such as the Environment Agency.
As is usual with consultations of this sort the UK population was apathetic and from a population of 70 million only 66 people responded. Of the 66 respondents, 36 were against the release and 30 were tentatively positive. However we are told - it WASN’T a vote – but merely a consultation.
How will it affect you? Is this the end of Japanese Knotweed? Is this the end for Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd? What will be the impact on Native species?
Japanese Knotweed Solutions have been following the research closely and have attended meetings held by DEFRA and CABI and are presenting their findings at a series of seminars being held throughout the country at various key venues.
The first of these seminars is at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester on the 25th March please contact Suzanne Hardy on 0161 723 2000 if you are interested .
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