Winter is truly upon us now, and we can all feel it! We’re buttoning up our coats and pulling down our hats to try and defend against the bitter winter winter wind.
There are many weeds that spread on the wind, their seeds being carried on the breeze to greener pastures. Weeds that spread this way include dandelions and mugwort. If you’ve found your way to this blog, you’re likely wondering if knotweed can spread on the wind this way.
Can knotweed spread on the wind?
To best answer this question, let’s get into the science of how plants reproduce. Plants can reproduce either sexually or asexually.
Asexual reproduction
Plants that can reproduce asexually only need the DNA from one parent plant, and any offspring are thus genetically identical to the parent.
Asexual plants can reproduce in a number of ways, primarily vegetative propagation and fragmentation.
Vegetative propagation is where offspring grow from a part of the parent plant.
Fragmentation is where new plants growing from parts of the parent plant fall away, like dandelions.
Sexual Reproduction
Sexual reproduction requires DNA from two parent plants. Parent plants have male and female sex cells called gametes. The genetic material from these gamete cells combine to create offspring. This process is called fertilisation, and the product of sexual reproduction are seeds.
Flowering plants reproduce sexually through pollination, where the male DNA is carried to the female sex organs (pistils) via pollen.
Plants can be pollinated by themselves (self-pollination), or by wind or animals (cross-pollination).
As you can see, wind can be responsible for the reproduction of both sexual (cross-pollination) and asexual (fragmentation) plants – but interestingly, the wind is not responsible for the spreading of Japanese knotweed.
Japanese knotweed is a dioecious plant (there are male and female knotweed plants). For dioecious plants to preproduce, a male plant must be near so that the female plant can be pollinated.
However, in the UK, only the female plant has been recorded. Therefore, Japanese knotweed is unable to reproduce through seeds.
If Japanese knotweed doesn’t spread on the wind, how does it spread?
Japanese knotweed has an extensive rhizome system that extends deep underground, as deep as 3 metres and as wide as 7 metres. Even a small fragment of these roots weighing less than a gram is enough to grow an entirely new plant.
Although these root fragments cannot be spread on the wind, they can be easily carried around on clothes and shoes, or within any contaminated soil. Fragments of knotweed can also be carried via water, so in periods of flooding, small fragments of roots can be carried to new locations.
If you think that Japanese knotweed has made its way onto your property but you’re not sure, why not request a FREE knotweed survey today from Taylor Total Weed Control? Our knotweed experts will identify any knotweed present on your property and give their professional opinion on which treatment plan is best suited to you.
Free Knotweed Survey
If you do have knotweed on your property, it’s best to take action sooner rather than later. Taylor Total Weed Control offer professional knotweed removal services. To learn more about the different treatment plans and how they can benefit you, head on over to our website today.
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Read More: Do Storms Help Japanese Knotweed to Spread?
Is It Japanese Knotweed?