plants. The research suggests that the best way to control the spread of riparian Himalayan balsam is to decrease eutrophication, thereby permitting the better-adapted local vegetation, that gets outgrown by the balsam on watercourses with high nutrient load, to rebound naturally. The researchers caution that their conclusions probably do not hold true for stands of the plant at forest edges and meadow habitats, where manual destruction is still the best approach. The Bionic Control of Invasive Weeds project, in Wiesbaden, Germany, is trying to establish a self-sufficient means of conserving their local biodiversity by developing several food products made from the Himalayan balsam flowers. If all goes well, the project will have it financing its own eradication. In August 2014, CABI released a rust fungus in Berkshire, Cornwall and Middlesex in the United Kingdom as part of field trials into the biological control of Himalayan balsam. Some research also suggests that I. glandulifera may exhibit allelopathy, which means that it excretes toxins that negatively affect neighboring plants, thus increasing its competitive advantage. The Royal Horticultural Society and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology recommend that pulling and cutting is the main method of non-chemical control, and usually the most appropriate. Natural Resources Wales has used manual methods, such as pulling plants and using strimmers, to largely eradicate Himalayan balsam from reaches of the River Ystwyth. References External links Identifying and removing Himalayan Balsam on businesslink.gov.uk Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) The UK Environment Agency's guide to managing invasive non-native plants glandulifera Flora of Pakistan Flora of West Himalaya Flora of Nepal Holarctic flora Articles containing video clips