Transcript Document

Biological control for
weeds in Ireland with
reference to JK & HB
Dick Shaw & Rob Tanner- CABI
Format
Brief introduction to CABI and invasives
Biocontrol – types, history and examples
Azolla weevil
Japanese knotweed: and the psyllid
Himalayan Balsam
Floating Pennywort
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
Our member countries and centres
CABI centre
CABI member country
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
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”)
IAS CBD Commitments
PREVENT, ERADICATE or
CONTROL
•What about the really big problems we already have?
Plants are often the worst invaders
What is Biological Control?
Broom in New Zealand
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.
Rhododendron ponticum
Buddleia pathogens
What is Classsical Biological Control?
NOT The Cane Toad
Prickly pear in Australia
50 million
hectares of
it in New
South
Wales
Before
After
Rubber vine weed
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)
EU Activity
Country
Recipient
Source
Austria
0
48
Finland
0
5
France
0
111
Germany
0
46
Greece
0
29
Italy
0
71
Portugal
0
18
Spain
0
9
Sweden
0
3
UK
0
41
Total
0
381
Stenopelmus
rufinasus
No stranger to
biocontrol
Before
After
Bracken P. aquilinum
•P. angularis tested against 54 spp.
C. cinsigna tested against 71 spp.
Symptoms of the Fungal Pathogen
Phloeospora heraclei
Giant Hogweed
(Heracleum mantegazzianum)
Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)
“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
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
Phase 2 sponsors
AAFC
BC
Very wide range of
“Japanese
knotweeds” in Japan.
Often hard to tell
apart.
0
Taxon
Pathogens
Orthoptera
Lepidoptera
Hymenoptera
Hemiptera
Coleoptera
Diptera
Number of species
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
UK
Japan
10
Many insects feeding on most parts
Other (5)
186 species of
phytophagous
arthropod recorded
from Japanese
knotweed in Japan.
Remarkably only
one generalist root
feeder of note
Leaf rollers (7)
Stem borers (12)
Sap suckers (39)
Leaf feeders
(123)
Photo – Prof K. Yano
Field observations
The Japanese team in
their temperate
glasshouse with stock
plants
Pathogens
Mycosphaerella polygonicuspidati
Leafspot fungus- so common
that it is included in the Flora
of Japan
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㎛
Macro/microscopic analysis
F. Conollyana
F.japonica
P. maritimum
•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
Insects
DISMISSED
Endoclyta excrescens
Allantus luctifer
DISMISSED
Machiatella itadori
DISMISSED
Lixus impressiventris
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
Aphalara itadori
Detailed life cycle studies complete
Egg
1st
instar
2nd
instar
3rd
instar
4th
instar
5th
instar
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
4-6
5 - 11
28 - 42
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
Centrifugal phylogenetic method:
More closely related species more
likely to be attacked than more distantly related ones
Family
Tribe
Subtribe
Genus
Species
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
500
450
400
Mean eggs/plant
350
300
250
200
150
The 78 spp. that did not
receive eggs are excluded
100
50
tac
hu
m
P.
po
ly
s
ul
us
nv
ol
v
F.
co
O.
di
gy
na
ru
m
F.
du
m
eto
ds
hu
an
ica
xa
F.
ba
l
pl
e
M
.co
m
atu
m
R.
pa
lm
ac
ch
ali
ne
ns
is
F.
es
cu
len
tu
m
F.
s
m
pa
cta
F.
co
nn
ol
ian
a
F.
co
m
ica
oh
e
xb
F
F.
ja
po
ni
ca
0
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
Aphalara adult survival
60
50
No. Alive
F. japonica
40
F. bladshuanica
F. dumetorum
F. convolvulus
30
F. esculentum
Plastic plant
20
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Day
7
8
9 10 11 12
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
Nymph % survival over time
100
Fallopia japonica
90
Rheum Glaskin's
Fallopia dumetorum
Fagopyrum esculentum
Fallopia convolvulus
80
70
60
Oxyria digyna
Polygonum arenastium
Rumex hydrolapatholum
50
40
Reum palmatum
Fallopia baldschuanica
Fagopyrum dibotrys
Persicaria polystachya
30
20
Fallopia conolliana
M. complexa
10
0
3
7
14
28
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
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 nontargets but no development
Nymph transfer development studies and targetabsent oviposition studies largely support findings
Adult no-choice starvation studies show very
restricted range
35
30
25
20
10
15
Increase in leaves
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
5
0.5
Proportional Increase in height
3.0
Impact studies
Control
Low
Maximum
Nymph load
Increase in height
Control
Low
Nymph load
Leaf count
Maximum
Interaction with herbicide =
Significant increase in leaf loss
2
Change in leaf number
0
-2
Control
Low
Medium
High
-4
-6
-8
-10
-12
Treatment
Change in leaf number two weeks after spraying with
sub-lethal dose of systemic herbicide following
exposure to four levels of psyllid feeding
Interaction with herbicide
Reduction in leaf area
Change in leaf area (cm2)
20
0
Control
Low
Medium
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
Treatment
High
Japan 2007
•Primarily Giant
knotweed in Hokkaido
and N. Honshu
•Collections of
northern species for
NA screening
R2= 0.9328 Dev
Rate per day =
0.01921+0.002162
Temp
DD 462.5 from
egg to adult
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
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)
Impatiens
spp.
2007
Floating pennywort
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
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
Listronotus elongatus
Multi choice 50 adults
Heavy damage and
egg laying on target,
only trace feeding on
native
EU opportunities
Sheppard, Shaw & Sforza - Weed Research 2006
Species
Form
Origin
EU distribution
Genus native?
b
Buddleja davidii
Ph
China
Temperate
No
Fallopia japonica
Ge
Japan
Temperate
Yes
b
Conflict
BC history
O
Yes
No
Yes
O
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
d
Acacia dealbata
Ph
Australia
Mediterranean
No
Azolla filiculoides
Hy
N America
Temp/Med
No
Ailanthus altissima
Ph
China
Temp/Med
No
Impatiens glandulifera
He
India
Temperate
Yes
O
No
Rhododendron ponticum
Ph
S Europe
Temp/Med
Yes
O
Yes
Robinia pseudoacacia
Ph
N America
Temperate
No
F
No
Senecio inaequidens
He
S Africa
Temp/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
Th
C America
Temp/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Carpobrotus edulis
Ch
S Africa
Temp/Med
No
No
No
Heracleum mantegazzianum
He
W Asia
Temperate
Yes
No
Yes
Solanum elaeagnifolium
He
S America
Tem/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Baccharis halimifolia
Ph
N America
Mediterranean
No
No
Yes
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides
Hy
N America
Temp/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Ludwigia peploides
He
S America
Temp/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Crassula helmsii
Hy
Australasia
Temperate
Yes
No
No
Elodea canadensis
Hy
N America
Temperate
No
No
No
Myriophyllum aquaticum
Hy
S America
Temp/Med
Yes
No
Yes
Solidago canadensis
Ge
N America
Temperate
Yes
No
No
b
b
b
d
d
d
d
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: 105-113
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
Himalayan knotweed
Rapidly spreading in UK and N.
America and very hard to control.
Recent surveys in Pakistan revealed
very promising agents……
Unidentified weevil and rust on
Himalayan knotweed in Pakistan