Biocontrol News and Information 30(3), 49N–66N pestscience.com General News Britain Holds Public Consultation on Japanese Japanese knotweed conventionally through the use Knotweed Biocontrol Agent of chemicals and physical removal. On 23 July 2009, officials at the UK Department for If a licence is issued, it is expected that the psyllid Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would be released and monitored, at a small number announced the start of a three-month public consul- of sites initially, in spring 2010 at the earliest, fol- tation seeking views on the possible release of the lowed by wider release in England and Wales. The non-native psyllid Aphalara itadori to help control Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera – for- Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). The consulta- merly the Central Science Laboratory) is the tion marks the next step in the CABI-led biological licensing authority for the psyllid under the Plant control project against this weed. Health Act 1967 and, in England, for its release to the wild under the Wildlife and Countryside Act Japanese knotweed is one of the most damaging 1981. The Welsh Assembly Government’s Depart- invasive species to arrive in the UK, continental ment for Environment, Sustainability and Housing Europe, the USA and Canada. It was introduced is the licensing authority for the 1981 Act in Wales. from Asia to Europe in the early to mid 19th century A plant health Pest Risk Assessment has been car- as an ornamental plant. In its native Japan, the ried out in accordance with the European and plant presents little or no problems owing to the Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization impact of natural enemies, but in its introduced (EPPO) template and is the focus of the consultation. range it is capable of growing 3 m in as many months. In the UK, its vigorous growth inflicts The Wildlife and Countryside Act application has damage to buildings, paving, archaeological sites, also been reviewed by the Advisory Committee on riverways and railways in many parts of the country. Releases to the Environment, which has supported It also harms biodiversity, excluding native plants issuing a licence, dependent on certain licensing con- through its dense growth habit. ditions. The research has most recently been peer- reviewed by three independent expert scientists. The cost to the UK economy is also great. In 2003, the UK Government put the cost of control, if attempted Speakers at the launch of the public consultation countrywide, at over UK£1.5 billion. Since then, both included two Cornish representatives, Counsellor the cost and the problem have grown. These control Julian German, Cornwall Council’s Environment methods rely mainly on chemicals and have been Portfolio Holder, and Steve Crummay, Living Envi- deemed unsustainable and unsuitable for a national ronment Manager, Cornwall Council and Chair of eradication programme. A longer-term solution to the Japanese Knotweed Research Project Board. the problem was therefore required. In 2001, a con- They were followed by Trevor Renals, Invasive Spe- sortium of partners was brought together to form a cies Advisor to the Environment Agency and co- project management board, which has managed a instigator of the Cornwall Knotweed Forum in 1997, scientific research programme examining the poten- and Dick Shaw, lead scientist for the CABI Japanese tial for biological control of Japanese knotweed. knotweed project. There then followed presentations Organizations represented on the board, and pro- from Defra and Fera, who clarified the regulatory viding the necessary funding for this work, are picture for authorization of any release. British Waterways, Defra, Welsh Assembly Govern- ment, Environment Agency, Network Rail and South Further information about the project can be found West Regional Development Agency, all coordinated at: www.cabi.org/japaneseknotweedalliance by Cornwall County Council. CABI won the tender to conduct the full programme in 2003, following a In addition, the information pack produced for the scoping study in 2000 which confirmed the potential public consultation is worth a look, especially for any for biological control of Japanese knotweed. country new to classical biological control and consid- ering how to present the topic to its citizens: Over a period of six years, CABI considered more www.cabi.org/files/jkeventpack.pdf than 200 possible control agents, identified in collab- oration with Kyushu University in Japan, during The fact that this would be the first time a weed bio- surveys of Japanese knotweed in its home range. logical control agent had been introduced to Europe, Although most agents were rejected, host-specificity let alone the UK, means the project has to deal with tests conducted over four years using 87 test plant scepticism – something at which Europeans excel. species demonstrated that the psyllid A. itadori from The pack begins by summarizing the physical and Japan is highly specific to Japanese knotweed and economic impact of Japanese knotweed on biodiver- shows good potential for its control in Great Britain. sity, flooding and water quality, infrastructure and Research shows that the introduction of the psyllid development, and safety and in social and human will not adversely affect native biodiversity and could terms. It explains why the psyllid could help provide result in a significant reduction in environmental a solution, describing its life cycle and the damage it damage as well as in costs associated with tackling causes, then explains the host-specificity testing pro- Are we on your mailing list? Biocontrol News and Information is always pleased to receive news of research, conferences, new products or patents, changes in personnel, collaborative agreements or any other information of interest to other readers. If your organization sends out press releases or newsletters, please let us have a copy. In addition, the editors welcome proposals for review topics. 50N Biocontrol News and Information 30(3) cedure, and ends by explaining what impact the America, withdrawing water from rivers and reser- psyllid is hoped to have, underlining that it is not voirs, salinizing soils, altering flood and fire regimes expected to provide a quick or complete solution. along rivers, and displacing native riparian ecosys- Anticipating that the public’s fears about non-target tems. Chemical and mechanical control methods are impacts may not have been allayed by the above widely used but are expensive, pose risks to native description of the host-testing process (not least plants and wildlife, and are not feasible for the because it culminated in the scientists being assured largest invasions of tamarisk, such as the popula- of their proposed agent’s safety), the pack lists eight tions occupying hundreds of kilometres along rivers of the other 200+ agents which were studied in more and reservoirs in the Rio Grande Basin of Texas, detail over the six years of the project and explains New Mexico and Mexico, and others covering thou- why they were rejected – and in some cases saying sands of hectares of rangeland in the Great Basin of that this was a disappointment but unavoidable on eastern California, Nevada, Utah and the Lower safety grounds. It emphasizes that the most impor- Colorado of Arizona and southern California. tant aspect of a biological control programme is selecting the best agent for the job, and that safety is Over 300 insects feed on Tamarix spp. across their an absolute priority. Next, the pack explains how bio- vast native range, the main portion of which extends control scientists decide which plants to test – and from the western Mediterranean to central China1. how this was done for Japanese knotweed – and why After extensive risk assessments that began in testing just this selection of species allows reliable 19861, tamarisk leaf beetles (Diorhabda spp.) were decisions to be made about the host specificity and selected as the top priority natural enemy for intro- safety of the proposed agent. Finally (before the tra- duction by the US Department of Agriculture – ditional ‘FAQs’), it profiles a selection of biological Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) scien- control successes against insect and weed targets in tists Jack DeLoach (Temple, Texas) and Robert the UK and around the world that CABI has been Pemberton (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida), in consultation involved in. with overseas cooperators, Ivan Mityaev and Roman Jashenko in Kazakhstan, and Ren Wang, Quing This is a significant step for a European country and, Guang Lu and Baoping Li in China. The beetle (then if the psyllid biocontrol agent is released, could pave known as Diorhabda elongata deserticola) was the way for wider use of this tried and tested approved for quarantine importation by the USDA- approach to weed management. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in March 19921. Host-range testing initi- Contact: Dick Shaw, CABI Europe – UK, ated by ARS in Temple, Texas, and after 1998 also in Bakeham Lane, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK. Albany, California2,3,4, resulted in approval of the Email: [email protected] beetle by USDA-APHIS for field release in May 2001. Adult tamarisk beetles deposit eggs in masses attached to foliage or bark. Larvae feed on foliage for Leaf Beetles Lasso Tamarisk without Hurting about three weeks and then pupate on the soil sur- the Relatives in Texas and the Southwestern face beneath the tree. Two (in Nevada) to 4–5 USA generations (in Texas) are completed annually and adults enter reproductive diapause in the fall and Ranchers and natural resource managers in Texas, overwinter beneath debris on the soil surface or in the southwestern USA and Mexico have long been in clumps of grass5. a tense standoff with exotic tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), also known as saltcedar in the USA and as pino A Diorhabda population now known as the northern salado or cedro salado in Mexico.