Monthly Archives: August 2011

Stop the seeds, stop the spread? Sterile burning bush developed.

Researchers at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station  have painstakingly developed a sterile triploid cultivar of Euonymus alatus, winged burning bush.  This ever-popular landscape plant has created dense thickets when it escapes into forests.  The process for developing the sterile cultivar is … Continue reading

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Swallow-wort leaf-eating beetles for biocontrol

Two moths have passed a major test towards becoming approved biocontrol agents for swallow-wort vines (Vincetoxicum spp.).  Swallow-wort is related to milkweeds, but these moth larvae appear to specialize on swallow-wort and don’t touch native milkweeds.  http://www.northeastipm.org/about-us/publications/ipm-insights/swallow-wort-biocontrols-pass-test/

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Could Phragmites be a major allergen?

Two University of Minnesota researchers propose that the rapid spread of Phragmites australis around urban areas could be responsible for high levels of allergenic pollen.  Currently most people are simply tested for allergies to grass pollen without differentiating different species … Continue reading

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