U researchers hopeful for naturally-occurring end to invasive buckthorn
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- It's been an ongoing battle for years in Minnesota: The fight against invasive buckthorn.
You may have seen efforts to get goats to eat the stuff. Now, researchers are looking to something else found in nature.
Buckthorn is grown for study at the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, but you do not have to look far to find it elsewhere.
"This research just started at the beginning of the year," said Dr. Pablo Olivera Firpo with the University of Minnesota's Plant Pathology Department.
Dr. Firpo is the lead researcher on the study. It all starts with a fungus called crown rust, which grows naturally on buckthorn. The study would collect buckthorn infected with crown rust, extract DNA from the fungus, and see which species of crown rust is most impactful.
Crown rust can stunt the growth of buckthorn and even kill it.
"Let's use a partition, an organism that's already impacting on the plant, and see if we can use it in our favor to provide an extra tool to control this invasive plant," Olivera Firpo said.
This is just the beginning of the three-year study. Just three weeks ago, the university started surveying infected buckthorn across the state.
There's hope that crown rust could make a big dent in a big problem.
"We have a little hope in what will be coming after this," Olivera Firpo said.
He said he hopes that research continues beyond the three-year project. He said crown rust could possibly be used alongside other mediation efforts like pesticides and goats.