Pennisetum clandestinum (Kikuyu grass).

Author(s):  
Chris Parker

Abstract P. clandestinum is an aggressive perennial plant, spreading by rhizomes below ground, especially by long runners above ground, and it also sets seed. It is native to the highlands of eastern Africa but has been widely introduced elsewhere for forage and for soil conservation. In well managed situations it does not generally spread very far but it is highly tolerant of grazing and mowing and can steadily invade poorly managed plantations. It also readily invades natural vegetation with resultant loss of biodiversity. This has occurred in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hawaii and the Galapagos. It is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed in the USA.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
A. M. C. H. Attanayake ◽  
S. S. N. Perera

COVID-19 is a pandemic which has spread to more than 200 countries. Its high transmission rate makes it difficult to control. To date, no specific treatment has been found as a cure for the disease. Therefore, prediction of COVID-19 cases provides a useful insight to mitigate the disease. This study aims to model and predict COVID-19 cases. Eight countries: Italy, New Zealand, the USA, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Spain, and South Africa which are in different phases of COVID-19 distribution as well as in different socioeconomic and geographical characteristics were selected as test cases. The Alpha-Sutte Indicator approach was utilized as the modelling strategy. The capability of the approach in modelling COVID-19 cases over the ARIMA method was tested in the study. Data consist of accumulated COVID-19 cases present in the selected countries from the first day of the presence of cases to September 26, 2020. Ten percent of the data were used to validate the modelling approach. The analysis disclosed that the Alpha-Sutte modelling approach is appropriate in modelling cumulative COVID-19 cases over ARIMA by reporting 0.11%, 0.33%, 0.08%, 0.72%, 0.12%, 0.03%, 1.28%, and 0.08% of the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for the USA, Brazil, Italy, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Spain, and South Africa, respectively. Differences between forecasted and real cases of COVID-19 in the validation set were tested using the paired t -test. The differences were not statistically significant, revealing the effectiveness of the modelling approach. Thus, predictions were generated using the Alpha-Sutte approach for each country. Therefore, the Alpha-Sutte method can be recommended for short-term forecasting of cumulative COVID-19 incidences. The authorities in the health care sector and other administrators may use the predictions to control and manage the COVID-19 cases.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1126
Author(s):  
Allen Kerr ◽  
Gary Bullard

The biocontrol of crown gall has been practised in Australia for 48 years. Control is so efficient that it is difficult to find a galled stone fruit tree, when previously, crown gall had been a major problem. This paper explains how it works and why only pathogens are inhibited. A commercial biopesticide is available in Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, the USA, South Africa and Japan. The challenges of commercialising a biopesticide are outlined. Rigid regulations are preventing the wider use of biocontrol organisms.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  

Abstract A. areolatum is a basidiomycete that causes a white rot of a broad range of conifers. Its invasiveness arises from a symbiotic association with woodwasps of the genus Sirex. The species Sirexnoctilio is listed as "highly invasive" on the ISSG/IUCN website (ISSG, 2008) and is a Regulated Pest for the USA (APHIS, 2009a). The wasp and the fungus are native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia where their damage is considered secondary (Spradbery and Kirk, 1978). Introduced to areas of the Southern Hemisphere where exotic pine species are grown in plantations, these organisms have caused major losses. The insect invaded New Zealand by at least 1900, but did not cause serious concern until the 1940s (Talbot, 1977). It later spread to Tasmania and the southern parts of Australia and the wasp/fungus association was introduced into southern South America, beginning in Uruguay in 1980 (Ciesla, 2003). Invasion of South Africa occurred in 1994 (Tribe, 1995). Woodwasps are repeatedly detected in material imported to the USA, but were successfully excluded until 2004 (Wilson et al., 2009). The wasp and fungus were later found in nearby Canada (Ontario), although apparently due to a separate introduction (Bergeron et al., 2008; Wilson et al., 2009). Recent surveys found the wasp in four states of the USA (Evans-Goldner and Bunce, 2009) and 25 counties of Ontario in Canada (Shields, 2009). Schiff (2008) summarizes differences in complexity of the ecological situations in the Southern Hemisphere countries and North America that could affect spread and impact of the fungus and wasp.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Gassmann ◽  
Chris Parker

Abstract L. vulgaris is a perennial flowering plant with a spreading root system. It forms dense mats which can compete with crops and suppress native vegetation, reducing pasture productivity and/or biodiversity (ISSG, 2015). Native to temperate areas of Europe and Asia, it has been widely introduced to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and is regarded as noxious in many of these countries. By inclusion in indexes of invasive species it is regarded as invasive widely in Canada and in the USA (Alberta Invasive Species Council, 2014; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, 2015). L. vulgaris received an invasive index of 69 (out of a maximum of 100) in Alaska, USA (ANHP, 2011). It is also regarded as invasive within its native range in Serbia (Dzigurski and Nikolic, 2014).


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Oram ◽  
V. Ferreira ◽  
R. A. Culvenor ◽  
A. A. Hopkins ◽  
A. Stewart

2006 marked the centenary of the commercial propagation of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.) as a cultivated pasture plant, firstly in Australia, and soon after in New Zealand, South Africa, and North and South America. Small-scale evaluation of cv. Australian began in the Toowoomba Botanic Gardens, Queensland, in 1884. The first recorded large-scale production of seed was at the Glen Innes Research Farm of the NSW Department of Agriculture in February 1906. By 1908–15, several graziers in Australia and New Zealand sold seed widely within Australia, New Zealand, USA, Argentina, and South Africa. Factors affecting the utilisation of the original cultivar in Australia over the first half-century are reviewed. Thereafter, the need to extend the area of perennial pastures into regions unsuitable for cv. Australian led CSIRO and the US Department of Agriculture to collect germplasm widely in the Mediterranean region. Selection between and within Moroccan populations produced cvv. Sirocco and El Golea in Australia, and cv. Perla koleagrass in the USA. In Argentina, selection within cv. Australian produced the very successful, seed-retaining cv. Pergamino El Gaucho INTA, which was re-selected in Australia to produce cv. Seedmaster. The discovery of a single seed-retaining plant within a certified line of cv. Australian gave cv. Uneta, which had excellent seed retention because the rachillae of most seeds remained intact at maturity. In Australia, selection in populations derived from crosses between cv. Australian and Mediterranean ecotypes gave a succession of winter-active cultivars: Sirosa, Sirolan, Holdfast, Landmaster, Atlas PG, Advanced AT, and Holdfast GT. The latter 5 have Uneta-type seed retention, reduced tryptamine and tyramine alkaloids, and adaptation to different soil and climatic niches. Populations for the hotter, drier inland slopes of NSW are being field-tested. Also, a promising but unstable semi-dwarf line has been found: dwarfism appears to be caused by a transposable element. Breeding and selection programs in Argentina, several states of the USA, New Zealand, Israel, Tunisia, and Greece also produced cultivars with specific adaptations. Active breeding programs are continuing at Ardmore, OK, USA, and Pergamino, Argentina. A major remaining obstacle to the further improvement and utilisation of phalaris is the unknown chemical nature of the toxin(s) causing ‘sudden death’, which temporarily interfere with nitrogen metabolism in the brains of herbivores, especially ruminants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislaine Cortat ◽  
Gitta Grosskopf

Abstract P. aurantiaca is a perennial herb which has spread rapidly in North America after its introduction as an ornamental and/or the contamination of pasture seeds from its native range in Europe. Although it is known to be a noxious weed elsewhere, it continues to be available as a garden ornamental and is therefore likely to spread further. It is an undesirable invader on account of its competitiveness, prolific seed production and vigorous vegetative growth leading to a drastic change in vegetation, loss in forage for stock, and loss of biodiversity. All Hieracium/Pilosella species are prohibited entry to Australia and New Zealand, and in the USA, P. aurantiaca is a declared weed in Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota and Washington.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Jennifer Datiles ◽  
Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez

Abstract S. elaeagnifolium is a deep-rooted summer-growing perennial plant, native to the Americas, but now widely naturalized beyond its native range in extra-tropical regions. It is considered a tenacious weed in many arid to semi-arid places including India, Australia, South Africa, the Pacific Islands, and the USA (Holm et al., 1979; Wagner et al., 1999; Randall, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2014). It is known to be invasive in Cuba (Oviedo-Prieto et al., 2012) and Hawaii (PIER, 2014), a principal weed in India (Holm et al., 1979), and an agricultural weed in Java (Randall, 2012). It has been declared a noxious weed in the U.S. states of Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington, and an "A" designated weed for quarantine in Oregon and Washington (USDA-NRCS, 2014). The species competes with crops, interferes with livestock, acts as a host for insects and plant diseases, and spreads by forming dense colonies from its extensive root system as well as by propagation of seeds (Boyd et al., 1984; Wagner et al., 1999; EPPO, 2007; PIER, 2014). The species is difficult to control without chemicals (UC Davis Weed Research and Information Center, 2013) and it is essential to keep it out of uncontaminated areas (EPPO, 2007). The species is known to be toxic to cattle, causing damage to intestinal tract and nervous systems and, in severe cases, can cause hallucinations, paralysis, and death (Mas and Lugo-Torres, 2013).


Author(s):  
Gordon L. Heath

This chapter describes the ‘acts of self-invention’ inherent in the public and political orientations of Protestant dissenting movements in anglophone countries in the twentieth century. It illustrates how civic dissenting Protestantism emerged over the century in nation-building among Afrikaners in South Africa, and the establishment of political parties, and the divergence of attitudes to the state in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. Two major trends (among the enormous diversity of dissenting political attitudes) include: changes within culture, the ‘exogenous factors’ that remained relatively out of the control of the churches but which had a direct bearing on their growth or decline; and changes within D/dissent itself. The chapter places these trends within the broader trends of secularization and the enormous diversification of (d)issenting movements ‘from the margins’. It points to the tensions between (to use Hans Mol’s words) the ‘priestly’ and the ‘prophetic’ roles of dissenting Protestantism in the West.


2021 ◽  
Vol 902 (1) ◽  
pp. 012006
Author(s):  
J I Royani ◽  
Rr N Utami ◽  
S Maulana ◽  
H Agustina ◽  
Herdis ◽  
...  

Abstract Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov) is tropical grass originates from Eastern Africa, that has been introduced in other tropical and subtropical areas including in Indonesia. Kikuyu used as forage with high protein content and palatable. In Indonesia, Kikuyu still rarely exists, and no data reported yet about Kikuyu growing in Indonesia except data about when it was introduced to Indonesia. The aims of this study were to know the biodiversity of Kikuyu in Indonesia and to compare its morphology and nutrition contents between accession. Exploring Kikuyu accessions was done around West of Java province area. The morphology of each accession was observed with parameters and nutrition content of each accession was analyzed using proximate analysis. The results showed 3 accessions of Kikuyu from Burangrang, Tangkuban Perahu and Bukit Tunggul location. Morphology of the 3 accessions shows not significant different in all parameters. Nutrition contents between accessions namely dry matter, water contents, and fat contents shows not significant different. Crude protein content of Kikuyu accessions was ranged between 18.18 to 21.48 % DM. In this study, Burangrang accession had higher crude protein (21.48%) than other accessions, for that it has potential to be developed as superior variety.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton Barrows ◽  
Michael Robinson

Private clubs have existed for as long as people have desired to gather in groups to do things together. It has been suggested that private clubs (and their predecessors) date to the Roman baths but probably pre-date even those. It is doubtful that the Roman baths represented the first time people congregated in groups to socialize, discuss commerce, politics, or just engage in a mutually agreeable activity. Certainly, most agree that the ‘modern’ clubs (in the English speaking world) originated in England, were limited to ‘gentlemen’ and organized for social, political, business and/or pleasure reasons. The concept was then ‘exported’ along with ex-patriots all around the world. Clubs have since evolved to the point where they exist in countries around the world although they are embraced to a greater or lesser extent in different places. Examples of private clubs can be found in such countries as England (and the greater UK), Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, and the UAE. Perhaps no country has adopted the idea of clubs as much as the USA, where they have evolved into a veritable industry, are protected by law, and number into the thousands. Humans, being social creatures, long to spend quality time with others – ‘others’, historically, representing those of their own kind. Perhaps it is for this reason that clubs have, rightly or wrongly, developed a reputation for being discriminatory. People generally find benefits from spending time with others. These benefits may accrue in many forms, including personal, professional, and political.


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