Insect to fight weed is no magic bullet

LEICESTER, England, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A British biologist says the introduction of a predatory insect to fight the spread of Japanese knotweed in the United Kingdom isn't a "magic bullet."

Professor John Bailey of the University of Leicester, who has studied Japanese knotwood for more than 20 years, made the statement in reaction to recent plans by the government to introduce a predatory insect to combat the weed that has spread throughout the country.

Bailey said predators have been successfully used to control plant growth, but as those predators die, the number of plants declines before the target is completely eliminated, so repeated applications are required."

Bailey said the sap-sucking psyllid that has been proposed to combat the weed "is no 'magic bullet'." He said the insect "must be viewed as an invaluable aid to leveling the playfield in the fight against this alien plant, rather than as a 'mission achieved'."

He added, "To introduce a control agent and then sit back and let it do its work would lead to little reduction in the occurrence of the plant …"