Biological control for weeds in Ireland with reference to JK

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Biological control for weeds in Ireland with
reference to JK HB

• Dick Shaw Rob Tanner- CABI

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Format

• Brief introduction to CABI and invasives
• Biocontrol types, history and examples
• Azolla weevil
• Japanese knotweed and the psyllid
• Himalayan Balsam
• Floating Pennywort

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What/who is CABI?

• Formerly the Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux
  International, Origins back to 1910.
• UN-Treaty level, not-for profit
  intergovernmental organisation owned by its 45
  member countries
• CABI includes the former International Institute
  of Biological Control (IIBC) and 3 other
  institutes

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Our member countries and centres
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Our mission

• CABI improves peoples lives worldwide by
  providing information and applying scientific
  expertise to solve problems in agriculture and
  the environment

KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE
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CABI Publishing

• Abstracts environment, agriculture, tourism
• 7 million abstracts (10,000 free text added/yr)
• Books - 60 new titles/year
• Invasive Species Compendium gt1,000 species
  included so far (hopefully open access if final
  funding can be found)
• 20 million turnover
• Only 5 of our income is from member
  contributions (core funding)

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IAS CBD Commitments

• PREVENT, ERADICATE or

CONTROL

• What about the really big problems we already
  have?

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Plants are often the worst invaders
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What is Biological Control?
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Broom in New Zealand
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3 Categories of Biological Control
Conservation - Protection and maintenance of
existing Natural Enemies (NEs)
Inundative - a.k.a the Mycoherbicide Approach
using native pathogens for repeated application
Classical - Using Co-evolved (highly specific)
NEs from the area of origin of the plant to
provide self-sustaining control after a single
release.
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Rhododendron ponticum
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Buddleia pathogens
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What is Classsical Biological Control?
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NOT The Cane Toad
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Prickly pear in Australia
50 million hectares of it in New South Wales
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Before
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After
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Rubber vine weed
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Is It Safe?
Over 1,000 releases of biocontrol agents around
the world gt350 agents against 133 target weeds A
century of research Any non-target effects are
predictable by the vigorous safety testing An
International code of conduct 8 examples of
non-target effects (7 of which predicted or
predictable with current approaches)
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EU Activity
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Stenopelmus rufinasus No stranger to biocontrol
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Before
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After
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Bracken P. aquilinum
C. cinsigna tested against 71 spp.

• P. angularis tested against 54 spp.

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Symptoms of the Fungal Pathogen Phloeospora
heraclei
Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
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The site is a challenge. We have identified
unexploded wartime bombs and Japanese
knotweed.. the bombs we can deal with Head of
London Development Agency on the subject of the
2012 Olympic site
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Japanese knotweed(s)

• Fallopia japonica var. japonica Bailey
• syn. Reynoutria japonica Houttuyn
• syn. Polygonum cuspidatum Siebold Zucc.
• F. sachalinensis (Giant knotweed)
• F. x bohemica (hybrid)

Courtesy of Japanese kntoweed manual Child Wade
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Phase 2 sponsors
AAFC BC
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Very wide range of Japanese knotweeds in
Japan. Often hard to tell apart.
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Many insects feeding on most parts
186 species of phytophagous arthropod recorded
from Japanese knotweed in Japan. Remarkably only
one generalist root feeder of note
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Photo Prof K. Yano
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Field observations
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• The Japanese team in their temperate glasshouse
  with stock plants

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Pathogens
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Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidati
Leafspot fungus- so common that it is included in
the Flora of Japan
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Life cycle

• Microcyclic or reduced life cycle - only
  functional spores are spermatia and ascospores
• Primary source of infection is ascospores, no
  anamorph or macroconidial stage found
• No ascomata produced in vivo or in vitro despite
  varied humidity regimesagar media trials
• Mycelial infection found to be comparable in lab

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Macro/microscopic analysis
F. Conollyana
P. maritimum
F.japonica

• 60 plant spp tested (mainly mycelium)
• no symptoms on F. sachalinensis F. compacta
• 21 N. American species tested to some degree
  still promising

F x bohemica
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Insects
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DISMISSED
Endoclyta excrescens
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Allantus luctifer
DISMISSED
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Machiatella itadori
DISMISSED
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Lixus impressiventris
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DISMISSED
Ex F. japonica host
Can rear through on P. hydropiper but produced
very small offspring too few to establish a
culture. Only ever seen on Japanese knotweed in
Japan even when populations were very high indeed
Ex P. hydropiper host
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Aphalara itadori
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• Detailed life cycle studies complete

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Aphalara information

• Each female produces a mean of 637 eggs 121.96
  (1SE, n 11).
• The mean period of production is 37.5 days 5.85
  days (1SE, n 11).
• Adults live up to 67 days

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Centrifugal phylogenetic method More closely
related species more likely to be attacked than
more distantly related ones
Family
Tribe
Subtribe
Genus
Species
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Test Plant List

• 90 species and varieties
• representatives from 19 families.
• All naïve Polygonaceae
• 37 plants natives
• 23 species introduced to the UK,
• 3 species native to Europe,
• 13 ornamental
• 10 economically important UK species

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The 78 spp. that did not receive eggs are excluded
Bar chart showing mean egg count on those plants
that did receive eggs in multiple choice
oviposition tests. (/- 1SE). Development only
successful to the left of red line
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Aphalara adult survival
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Extent of nymph development on NT hosts which
have received eggs

• Request for more information from CSL as part of
  review of PRA
• Hand transferred nymphs
• Higher humidity than before
• 6 reps x 10 N1 nymphs 60 individuals
• Increased survival on knotweed
• Risk of artificially increased survival on NTs

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Nymph survival over time
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Muehlenbeckia complexawire plant

• Garden thug (Clement Forster, 1994)
• Weed in Australia
• US team have found same result for northern Ai
  strain with another congeneric

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Aphalara summary

• Still happy in culture in the UK
• 87 species / varieties used so far, 3 rare spp.
  to go
• 145,172 eggs followed, 928 (0.64) laid on
  non-targets but no development
• Nymph transfer development studies and
  target-absent oviposition studies largely support
  findings
• Adult no-choice starvation studies show very
  restricted range

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Impact studies
Leaf count
Increase in height
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Interaction with herbicide Significant
increase in leaf loss

• Change in leaf number two weeks after spraying
  with sub-lethal dose of systemic herbicide
  following exposure to four levels of psyllid
  feeding

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Interaction with herbicideReduction in leaf area
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Japan 2007

• Primarily Giant knotweed in Hokkaido and N.
  Honshu
• Collections of northern species for NA screening

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R2 0.9328 Dev Rate per day 0.019210.002162
Temp
DD 462.5 from egg to adult
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Overwintering studies on Aphalara

• Lab showed survival on Bark, at 5 degrees after 8
  weeks
• So can survive with no food at all.
• Field work needle in a haystack

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What next?

• Wildlife Countryside application complete for
  England (Devolved Authorities version in prep.)
• Pest Risk Analysis complete
• Contingency and monitoring plan proposed
• External peer reviewers begun
• Public consultation Web (3 months)
• Stakeholder awareness raising (during above)
• Ministerial decision (last quarter 09?)
• Release if authorised (April 2010)

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Impatiens spp.
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2007
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Floating pennywortHydrocotyle ranunculoides
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Background

• Hydrocotyle ranunculoides is a serious invader of
  water bodies in the UK
• It is banned in Holland and a recent addition to
  the EPPO alert list
• 50km stretch was identified in Leicestershire
  canal
• Control is extremely difficult and the plant is
  still spreading

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Listronotus elongatus
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Multi choice 50 adults Heavy damage and egg
laying on target, only trace feeding on native
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EU opportunitiesSheppard, Shaw Sforza - Weed
Research 2006
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Thank you
Shaw, R.H., Bryner, S. Tanner, R. (2009). The
life history and host range of the Japanese
knotweed psyllid, Aphalara itadori Shinji
potentially the first classical biological weed
control agent for Europe. Biological Control
49 105-113Kurose, D., Evans, H.C., Djeddour,
D.H., Canon, P.F., Furuya, N. Tsuchiya, K.
(2009) Mycosphaerella species as potential
biological control agents of the invasive weed
Fallopia japonica. Mycoscience (in
press)Sheppard, A.W., Shaw, R.H. Sforza, R.
(2006) Classical biological control of European
exotic environmental weeds The top 20 potential
targets and the constraints. Weed Research 46
pp93-118
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Himalayan knotweed
Rapidly spreading in UK and N. America and very
hard to control. Recent surveys in Pakistan
revealed very promising agents
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Unidentified weevil and rust on Himalayan
knotweed in Pakistan