Conn. Professionals Support DNA Research for Invasives

Representatives of the green industry said they would fund invasive genetic fingerprinting research recently during the Connecticut Invasive Plants Council debate. Paul Larson, president of the Connecticut Nursery & Landscape Association, told the Council that a proposal by Mark Brand of U-Conn to study the DNA of current invasive plants would answer many questions about where the invaders are coming from – original plants or new cultivars.

Connecticut industry professionals have estimated that several of the cultivars of barberry, burning bush and Norway maple are worth  $15-20 million in sales in the state each year. Environmentalists would like to ban them.

The U-Conn study would cost between $10,000 and $20,000 and take a few years to complete.