A group of British scientists will fly to Japan in July as part of a pioneering British-American project to find a natural solution to a rampant superweed that is playing havoc in both countries, a spokesman for the project said.
The weed-control experts will be touring Honshu in an effort to find natural predators to the Japanese knotweed, which is pushing through concrete and tarmac, choking thousands of kilometers of river banks and invading homes.
Weed experts say Japanese knotweed, or Fallopia Japonica, can grow 3.6 meters in 12 weeks with roots reaching a depth of 5 meters.
"The idea is to work in collaboration with Japanese experts and find the knotweed in its natural environment and see what's on it," said Richard Shaw, a member of British nonprofit organization CABI Bioscience who is leading the survey in Japan.