Fragment Viability of Japanese Knotweed

Japanese Knotweed, otherwise known as Reynoutria japonica, is an invasive dense-growing shrub, commonly located along roadsides and stream banks.

Japanese Knotweed is responsible for the destruction of infrastructure, underground services, pavement, tarmac, building foundations, wall structures, roads, and more.

Invasion within the United States occurs when dense monocultures expand and when rhizomes and shoots are fragmented, which may occur from environmental perturbations or human removal.

Management and eradication of Reynoutria japonica is considerably difficult as it can regenerate itself both vegetatively (rhizome and shoots) and through seeds.

In the present study, three experiments were conducted to assess vegetative fragment viability in both the field and the laboratory.

First, I assess the vegetative propagation of three fragment viability experiments, two of which are performed under a controlled environment while the other is observed in the field. Data suggests that smaller rhizome fragments are just as viable as larger fragments in regenerating.

Findings suggest that there is no difference in growth when comparing different-sized fragments. My analysis on the regenerative abilities of shoots indicates that they remain viable. Therefore, it is necessary to be vigilant of vegetative fragment size when removing this species.