CABI scientists are looking to secure funding to help them develop a natural fungal control alternative for Ragwort, a common weed that is poisonous to horses and other livestock.
While current methods for controlling Ragwort, such as weeding, mowing and cutting, can be effective in the short term, they may actually promote future growth. Chemical herbicides can be effective, but their lack of specificity means they tend to kill off surrounding vegetation, and would be unsuitable on sites designated for nature conservation or as special scientific interest.
CABI proposes to develop an environmentally-friendly fungal spray that would specifically target Ragwort, infecting and killing the weed at a critical growth stage. This spray will contain a host-specific pathogenic fungus that will have no effect on non-target organisms and pose no threat to the environment.
In order to start phase one of the three phase project, CABI, a not-for-profit organisation, wants to raise GBP 20,000. This would allow the organisation to determine if a suitably specific and damaging native fungus occurs on Ragwort that can be exploited to control the plant.
Phase 2 would involve prioritisation of the best fungal agent to form the active ingredient, formulation into a spray and conducting field trials. In phase 3, the spray would be registered and launched as a commercial product.
CABI intends to set up the project as a commercial venture and to reinvest any income generated by the spray back into its other projects and consultancy work.
The organisation has a track record in the development of biological control mechanisms. One example is the Lubilosa project, in which it developed Green Muscle, a fungal product used to control locusts and grasshoppers in Africa. CABI is currently investigating the use of fungal control options for other UK weed species such as buddleia, rhododendron and Japanese knotweed.
A complete proposal, breakdown of the project phases and associated budgets has been prepared and copies are available for anyone who may wish to become involved by emailing [email protected].
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