Florida researchers debate whether jatropha will become invasive species in US

In Florida, researchers at the Florida native plant Society have raised a red flag over the possibility that jatropha could become an invasive species, like kudzu and melaleuca before it. The Florida Department of Agriculture scientists at the University of Florida have rejected the claims of similarities between the invasive qualities of jatropha and other celebrated southern plant invasions. However, critics of jatropha note that a predictive tool developed in Australia that has 90 percent accuracy in determining whether a plant will become uncontrollable, predicts that fate for jatropha in Florida.

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