NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ Researchers are taking a new look at bamboo to figure out if it’s a pest that should be banned from Connecticut.

The New Haven Register reports that some say it’s an invader that’s hard to get rid of while others say it’s an effective privacy screen and is no problem if handled properly.

Experts are gathering data before deciding if it should be sold freely or labeled potentially invasive or invasive and banned for sale or use.

Louis A. Magnarelli, vice chairman of the state Invasive Plants Council, says agriculture officials are measuring the efficiency of the barriers, growth of the plants and ways to eliminate them.

Bob Heffernan, executive director of an industry group, the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association, said it recently started compiling a list of companies that might want to eradicate bamboo.
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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)