'Plant-eating predator to fight superweed is not mag...(nt as the developers themselves admit is...)

Date:10/14/2008

nt, as the developers themselves admit, is no 'magic bullet'. Certainly such a release will weaken existing plants and slow down or hamper range extension, it may even have the effect of reducing the amount of hybrid seed produced. But it must be viewed as an invaluable aid to levelling the playfield in the fight against this alien plant, rather than as a 'mission achieved'.

"If it is to be released it should be as part of a co-ordinated campaign which involves both public education of the dangers of inadvertently spreading the plant, and a redoubling of the use of more conventional control methods. 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, and to a great increase in the unsightliness of its formerly pleasantly verdant appearance."

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Contact: Dr. John Bailey jpb@le.ac.uk 01-162-523-386 University of Leicester Source:Eurekalert

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