Biological control for Japanese knotweed comes into sharp focus during second release of psyllid
Research to find a suitable and safe biological control to fight the scourge of Japanese knotweed is stepping up a gear in the Netherlands after the second release of a psyllid – Aphalara itadori – and our very own Dr Janny Vos, Partnerships Development Director, was on hand with camera for this picture special.
CABI-published book sheds new light on plant invasions
The CABI-published book ‘Plant Invasions: The Role of Biotic Interactions’ is the first to focus on the key role of species interactions in mediating invasions and is now available to buy in hardback and ePDF/ePub formats from the CABI Bookshop.
Is parthenium weed allergy problem worse than that of annual ragweed?
By Asad Shabbir Parthenium weed and annual ragweed are closely related members of the Asteraceae, known for their high allergenicity. The detrimental effects on human health of the more temperate annual ragweed are very well known. However, those of the more tropical parthenium weed are less well known and in fact much more severe, affecting…
Giving garlic mustard the biocontrol treatment
In eastern North America a species of weed has become an aggressive invader. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is one of the most rapidly increasing woodland invasive plant species, spreading across northeastern and midwestern USA and southeastern Canada at a rate of nearly 2,500 square miles per year. The plant was most likely introduced to North…
Invasive Alien Plants
It was back in the early 1990s, on my first field trip to Assam in North-east India, with invasion ecologist Dr. Sean T. Murphy, when I first encountered mikania growing as an invasive weed. Until then, I had only seen this vine in its Central and South American native range, where locating a population of the plant could sometimes take all day.
Recent developments in the world of biofuels
Opinions on the use of crops for biofuel and bioenergy continue to be polarized – are they a ‘good thing’ or not? When are they a ‘good thing’? Who benefits? How do you measure the impacts and their interactions at a local, national and international level on food security, land resources, water, greenhouse gas emissions,…