1. Biological control for weeds in Ireland with reference to JK & HB
Dick Shaw & Rob Tanner- CABI

2. Format Brief introduction to CABI and invasives
Biocontrol – types, history and examples
Azolla weevil
Japanese knotweed: and the psyllid
Himalayan Balsam
Floating Pennywort

3. 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

4. Our member countries and centres
CABI centre
CABI member country

5. KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE Our mission
CABI improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment
KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

6. CABI Publishing Abstracts – environment, agriculture, tourism
7 million abstracts (10,000 free text added/yr)
Books - 60 new titles/year
Invasive Species Compendium >1,000 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”)

7. CONTROL IAS CBD Commitments PREVENT, ERADICATE or
What about the really big problems we already have?

8. Plants are often the worst invaders

9. What is Biological Control?

11. Broom in New Zealand

12. 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.
There are three types of natural control or as the scientific literature would have it “Biological Control”
I will mostly be talking about Classical.
But let’s get the concept of a natural solution clear

13. Rhododendron ponticum
Can’t use the classical approach since there are 500 cultivars.

15. Buddleia pathogens

16. What is Classsical Biological Control?

17. NOT The Cane Toad

18. Cactoblastis cactorum

19. Prickly pear in Australia
50 million hectares of it in New South Wales
Early last century the prickly pear covered 50 million acres which is about 30 times the size of Devon or most of the UK. Hard to conceive but it does show why countries like OZ, NZ and the US lead the way in natural control

20. 50 million acres cleared and now exists in harmony with surrounding vegetation. Silver bullet
This resulted in about 250,000 square kilometres of agricultural land being cleared of prickly pear.
By the mid 1930’s Prickly pear was no longer a problem.
A Cactoblastis memorial hall was built to honour this successful moth
Before

21. After

23. Rubber vine weed 60,000 hectares of Queensland infested
Green custard bringing down intact Eucalypt forest and threatening national parks
but not the case in madagascar where the plant is from

24. Maravellia cryptostegia from Madagascar
screened in our fcility and eventaully cleared fro release and now native species are returning and a previously-released insect has been redicovered after being presumed to have failed.
Rare plant, rare rust but released from its natural enemies BOOM
The questiopn we are always asked is how safe is this

25. Is It Safe? Over 1,000 releases of biocontrol agents around the world
>350 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)
This FAO code of conduct fits in with the CBD and promotes the free and fair exchange of biological control agents

26. EU Activity Country Recipient Source Austria 48 Finland 5 France 11148
Finland 5
France
111
Germany 46
Greece 29
Italy 71
Portugal 18
Spain 9
Sweden 3 UK 41
Total
381

27. Stenopelmus rufinasus
No stranger to biocontrol

28. Before

29. After

30. Bracken P. aquilinum C. cinsigna tested against 71 spp.
P. angularis tested against 54 spp.
C. cinsigna tested against 71 spp.

32. Symptoms of the Fungal Pathogen Phloeospora heraclei
Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

33. This is a typical shot of the unruly knotweed ignoring the rules of the road

34. the bombs we can deal with”
“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
This is the kind of site where the costs can go through the roof. The worst case scenario is £46,000 for a 1m patch on a development site. The 2012 Olympic site has a 4 hectare infestation which has been reported to be costing 65 million to remove. Indeed the london Development Agency Representative is quoted as saying we have problems with unexploded wartime ordinance and Japanese knotweed……….the ordinance we can deal with.

35. 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)
There I more than on ejapanese knotweed and certainly more than one name for each. It is fairly easy to distinguish the giant from the japonica variety but bohemica versus japonica is a little more tricky. The key is to look for hairs on the underside and the base of the largest leaf.
Smooth and flat = japonica
Hairy and heart shaped = sachalinensis (plus huge)
Small hairs and intermediate leaf base = bohemica
In the Uk we have one clone leading to one newspaper describing “the biggest female on earth set to destroy rural Britain”
Incidentally JK has many common names and recently the Cornish have adopted the name Ladir tir translated from the democratically selected english descriptor Land thief.
Courtesy of Japanese kntoweed manual Child & Wade

36. Phase 2 sponsors
AAFC BC

37. Very wide range of “Japanese knotweeds” in Japan.
Often hard to tell apart.

38. Often in these habitats it was the only vegetation for miles around as the substrate was very inhospitable. You can imagine that it found the slag heaps of South Wales home from home

40. 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

41. Photo – Prof K. Yano

42. Field observations

43. The Japanese team in their temperate glasshouse with stock plants

45. Pathogens

46. Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidati
The agent which still holds the most promise however is this leafspot. Highly damaging and ubiquitous found on Kyushu, Honshu and Shikoku islands, from sea level to altitudes of over 1,m. Coinciding with knotweed emergence in late April through to senescence in October/November
Based on 1918 published description in Japanese journal. Neotype needed. Thus, M. polygoni-cuspidati has all the characteristics of a hemibiotroph- a prolonged or well-developed, latent or colonization phase, followed by a necrotic phase, and even production of spermogonia within living tissues-and this life cycle is summarized in schematic form
Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidati
Leafspot fungus- so common that it is included in the Flora of Japan

47. 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 regimes+agar media trials
Mycelial infection found to be comparable in lab
40㎛
The lifecycle is complicated. Categorical ID came over a year into the project when microscopic analysis of fruiting structures placed it firmly in the Mycosphaerella species concept. Very slow growing and previous attempts to identify causal agent revealed only faster growing endophytes
Based on both field and experimental data, it is concluded that Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidati has a microcyclic or reduced life cycle in which the only functional spores are spermatia and ascospores. There is no evidence of a functional macroconidial stage or a true anamorph in the lifecycle Unlike M. brassicicola, however, ascomata have never been observed in inoculated plants (in vivo) or in culture (in vitro), despite testing various recommended humidity regimes and agar media (Snyder 1946), Nelson and Pound 1959), so it cannot be determined if the fungus is homo-or heterothallic. Indeed, in the field, ascomata are uncommon and most of the material collected over the 4-year period was dominated by the spermogonial stage. It could be argued that ascomata develop mainly after leaf fall but there was no evidence of this from a detailed examination of leaf litter collected prior to and during the winter months.

48. 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
After days on p. maritimum, guard cell reaction with bohemica
F x bohemica

49. Insects

50. DISMISSED Endoclyta excrescens
Which was just as happy boring out of plastic containers as it was knotweed roots

51. Allantus luctifer
DISMISSED

52. Machiatella itadori
DISMISSED

53. Lixus impressiventris

56. 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

57. Aphalara itadori

62. Two agents have been selected the first, a Psyllid with high potential, small yet damaging in large numbers. HR studies initiated and looking promising-142,000 eggs followed, <1% laid on plants of concern and none developed.

63. Detailed life cycle studies complete
Egg
1st
instar
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
Complete life cycle
Mean  1SE
9.2  0.1
4.8  0.2
3.3  0.2
3.9  0.3
4.5  0.1
7.1  0.3
32.9  0.8
Range
9 - 10
4 - 6
2 - 5
3 - 8
5 - 11

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

65. Centrifugal phylogenetic method:
More closely related species more
likely to be attacked than more distantly related ones
Family
Tribe
Subtribe
Genus
Species

66. 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

67. 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

68. Aphalara adult survival

69. 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

70. Nymph % survival over time

71. Muehlenbeckia complexa “wire plant”
“Garden thug” (Clement & Forster, 1994)
Weed in Australia
US team have found same result for northern Ai strain with another congeneric

72. 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

73. Impact studies
Leaf count
Increase in height

84. 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

85. Interaction with herbicide Reduction in leaf area

86. Japan 2007 Primarily Giant knotweed in Hokkaido and N. Honshu
Collections of northern species for NA screening

89. R2= 0.9328 Dev Rate per day = 0.01921+0.002162 Temp
DD from egg to adult

91. 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

93. 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)

94. Impatiens spp.
Himalayan balsam (s)

95. And when the plant forms monocultures similar to this one on the river torridge in north deveon, the seed production of the population can equate to a seed rain of seeds per m sq
When hb grows in riparian systems seeds become incorporated into the water body carried down stream rivers throughout the uk have acted as major corridors for this species dispersal
Although the Seed bank is relatively short lived 18months
Synchronous germination large seed bank to achive sufficent biomass to supress performance of other species it has been shown H.balsam
HB has been shown to outcompete some of our most vigerous growing native species

96. 2007
By the year 2000 hob occurs in over ½ of the 10km recording squares
Confidently say few rivers in the Uk which haven't been colonised by hob

97. Native range balsam spans 2 countries
Regional centre, aid travel, communication excellent ecologists and botanists
Decided to sample in august when the plant was in full bloom, aid identification
and this was the optimum time for plant pathogens why????
Unfortuantly sampling in august was to the detriment of arthopod collections we didn’t collect anything like the number of species we would have hoped for
At the time of of the survey collecting in india would have been extremely difficult.

99. Further collections could identify more aggressive strains and different species
CABI has experience working with leaf-spot pathogens (Mycosphaerella-Japanese knotweed)
Biocontrol potential: HIGH

101. And some highly promising pathogens especially a rust fungus which seems to hit the seedling and therefore key stage of the target plant

102. Floating pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
This is a canal!
Floating pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides

103. 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

104. There are a lot of aquatic plants in Argentina

106. And less scary species

107. We found pathogens and ….

108. Listronotus elongatus
The achile’s heel for aquatic weeds……….a weevil
Listronotus elongatus

109. Highly damaging in the field and in the lab

110. Though we nearly lost the culture to Beavaria, we managed to establish enough to carry out feeding, egg laying and development tests

111. Multi choice 50 adults
Heavy damage and egg laying on target, only trace feeding on native

112. EU opportunities Sheppard, Shaw & Sforza - Weed Research 2006
Species
Form
Origin
EU distribution
Genus native?
Conflict
BC history
Buddleja davidii Ph
China
Temperate
Nob O
Yes
Fallopia japonica Ge
Japan No
Acacia dealbata
Australia
Mediterranean
Yesd
Azolla filiculoides Hy
N America
Temp/Med
Ailanthus altissima
Impatiens glandulifera He
India
Rhododendron ponticum
S Europe
Robinia pseudoacacia F
Senecio inaequidens
S Africa
Ambrosia artemisiifolia Th
C America
Carpobrotus edulis Ch
Heracleum mantegazzianum
W Asia
Solanum elaeagnifolium
S America
Tem/Med
Baccharis halimifolia
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
Ludwigia peploides
Crassula helmsii
Australasia
Elodea canadensis
Myriophyllum aquaticum
Solidago canadensis

113. 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: Kurose, 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

114. Himalayan knotweed
Rapidly spreading in UK and N. America and very hard to control. Recent surveys in Pakistan revealed very promising agents……

115. Unidentified weevil and rust on Himalayan knotweed in Pakistan