18 | Monday, November 9, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE Left: Fall webworm, a pest originally from North America, found in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, in 2011. WU ZHIKE / CHINA DAILY Middle: The shells of small red-eared sliders are painted colorfully as the turtles are sold as pets in Yichang, Hubei province, in August. LIU JUNFENG / FOR CHINA DAILY Right: A technician sets up traps to capture fall army worms in a corn field in Huaibei, Anhui province, in July. LI XIN / FOR CHINA DAILY Prepare for the worst, scope for the pest Scientists are locked in an ongoing battle to repel invasive alien species that threaten China’s ecosystem, Li Yingxue reports. uta absoluta, or the tomato Over half of those listed among species of South America, was province in January 2019, the pest leaf miner, is a small dark- the 100 of the world’s worst invasive introduced to China in the 1930s as had infested over 1 million hectares colored moth and a devas- alien species, as published by the horse fodder. of land through 2019 and caused an tating pest for tomatoes. International Union for Conserva- It affects both aquatic and terres- economic loss of 10 billion yuan. TFeeding damage is caused by its tion of Nature, have invaded China. trial environments and was put on China’s Ministry of Agriculture larvae at all of its developmental Each year, more than 600 inva- the list of the first batch of invasive and Rural Affairs warns that the stages, or instars, and takes place sive alien species identified have alien species in China in 2003. formidable harm caused by fall throughout the whole plant except cost around 200 billion yuan Yin Wandong, lecturer at the army worms could erupt in more the root. An infestation can quickly ($30.17 billion) in economic losses, School of Life Sciences, Henan Uni- places in 2020. occur throughout an entire crop according to Chinese Academy of versity, says, these days, a more The invasion of non-native spe- cycle. Agricultural Sciences vice-presi- comprehensive risk evaluation cies is a complicated ecological They live on and in the leaves, dent, Wu Kongming. process is held before an exotic spe- process including transport, colo- stems, flowers and also in the fruit They also threaten ecological cies is introduced to China. nization, establishment and land- itself. On leaves, the larvae form safety by weakening biodiversity In the past couple decades, as scape spread. irregular burrows — like mines and the health of human beings international trade, transportation According to Liu, once a new inside the leaf, hence the critter’s and animals. With its rich biodiver- and tourism have grown, more invasive alien species has been moniker — which may become sity, China is especially vulnerable invasive alien species have been found to significantly affect agro- necrotic and cause the leaves to die. to invasive alien species. introduced to China unintentional- forestry production or ecological In the fruit, as well as being Lifting the public’s awareness of ly. environment, it means it has taken attacked by the larvae, the holes such invaders, and monitoring and Personal pets, particularly aquat- root and is almost impossible to and spaces formed by the voracious detecting them, has become an ic ones, are sometimes a source — eliminate. eaters can invite secondary patho- urgent challenge for China in for instance, people buy turtles like “The key is to carry out strict and gens into the tomato, causing it to recent years. trachemys scripta elegans, or the scientific monitoring, prevention rot. In August, “how to prospectively red-eared slider, and end up setting and control at early stage of inva- If not managed properly, it is predict the risk of new invasive them free, which has led to non-na- sion which can minimize the eco- capable of causing total yield losses. alien species in China’s agricultural tive turtle invasions in many places logical and economical loss the Originating in South America, it and forestry ecosystem and control in China. invasive alien species may cause,” invaded in Spain in 2006 and rapid- them in a timely manner” was add- Even seeds stuck to a tourist’s Liu says. ly spread across Southern Europe ed to the 2020 list of major engi- shoe can become an invasive alien Liu and his team have studied and North Africa engulfing all of neering technical problems to be species. the tomato leaf miner’s distribution the countries in the Mediterranean solved by the Chinese Association Yin says people should raise their history and trend worldwide, espe- region. for Science and Technology. awareness of invasive alien species, cially in Asia, and analyzed the pos- It has also invaded China, the Wu thinks it’s necessary to which can even be introduced by sible ways and areas through which largest tomato producer in the enhance the capability to cope with shopping online from overseas. it has invaded China for years. world. invasive alien species to safeguard “Some invasive alien species After continuous fixed-point In August 2017, during field sur- the nation’s food security and ecol- threaten people’s health and they monitoring in high-risk areas veillance in Yili, Xinjiang Uygur ogy. are not far away from people’s daily including Yunnan and Xinjiang, autonomous region, researchers The invasive alien species in Chi- life,” Yin says. “Take ambrosia arte- they managed to detect the pest at found infestation of lepidopteran na’s agricultural and forestry eco- misiifolia, or annual ragweed, as an an early stage. larvae on field-grown tomato system include insects, plants, example, ragweed pollen is a com- “To monitor and control invasive plants, which was later identified as viruses, fungi and bacteria. Most of mon, powerful allergen and is pro- alien species needs multidisciplina- the tomato leaf miner. them come through coastal areas duced in massive amounts.” ry collaborations including biology, According to Liu Wanxue, direct- and borders. They are introduced Ragweed invaded China more chemistry, agricultural pharmacol- or of the department of biological under natural, accidental and than 80 years ago and has spread to ogy and computer science,” he says. invasions at the Institute of Plant intentional circumstances, and over 20 provinces and cities. Liu says there is need to build a Protection, Chinese Academy of sometimes a combination of the According to a study by Zhang technology platform for precise Agricultural Sciences, it was the three. Xiaoli from Beijing Plant Protec- detection and intelligent remote first record of the pest in China. According to Liu, it was the latter tion Station, among the pollen monitoring — detection methods “It means there needs to be detec- which was the major source of the allergy patients at Peking Union using technologies including mod- tion and monitoring techniques invasive alien species in China in Medical College Hospital between ern molecular biology, satellite and prevention measures including last century. 2016 and 2018, more than one quar- remote sensing, DNA fingerprints plant quarantine and studies of its “China has a long history of ter were triggered by ragweed pol- and unmanned aerial vehicles. natural enemies to prevent further introducing species for multiple len. Liu thinks that, as well as using spread of new invasive insect pests,” purposes, including economic ben- Few invasive alien species have technology, providing more infor- Liu says. efit, ornamental value and environ- arrived naturally. Weeds can spread mation and knowledge to farmers China is a country that is in most mental protection,” he says. “Some through airflow, water flow or get about potential invasive alien spe- jeopardy from invasive alien species species may escape the confines of carried by migratory birds, insects Top: A technician with the local forestry administration examines cies can help detect them in a timely — ones that are introduced, acci- their enclosures or cultivation and and animals. fall webworms in a field in Zaozhuang, Shandong province, in Sep- manner. dentally or intentionally, outside of become invasive.” Spodoptera frugiperda, or fall tember 2012. LI ZONGXIAN / FOR CHINA DAILY Above: A local resident holds their natural geographic range and Alternanthera philoxeroides, or army worm, flew into Southwest a snapping turtle he found in a river in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, Contact the writer at which become problematic. alligator weed, which is a native China. First detected in Yunnan in April 2011. ZHU XIAOQIN / FOR CHINA DAILY [email protected] Ancient instrument strikes enchanting chord of opportunity in Xinjiang URUMQI — What is the most As China’s anti-poverty campaign East China’s Zhejiang province in enchanting music in the world? For swept the country, more parents 2018 and won a national art per- 15-year-old Gulzeper Muhtar in could afford to buy their children the formance prize in 2019. Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur konghou, which is priced at about Gulzeper Muhtar’s parents did not autonomous region, it is the sound 30,000 yuan ($4,488). quite back her devotion to the kong- of konghou, an ancient plucked The local government has started hou over worries that it might steal string instrument. a program to train konghou teachers her study time. “I signed a contract Konghou, which is shaped like a and students to promote the instru- with them, promising to quit playing harp, is said to have been introduced ment. So far, some 10 teachers and the konghou if my academic per- into the Chinese hinterland via Xin- 30 students can play the instrument. formance worsened,” she says, jiang during the prime period of the About 20 teachers and 100 students laughing. ancient Silk Road. It was all the rage will be trained to play the konghou She managed to strike a perfect in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) over by 2022, says Jiang Huadong, direct- balance between practicing konghou 1,100 years ago, with many poems or of the county’s bureau of educa- and studying, earning her parents’ and murals depicting the unique tion and science and technology.