Parthenium hysterophorus is commonly known as congress grass or carrot weed in India. It belongs to Asteraceae family and native to subtropics of North and South America. It is an invasive plant species that disturbs cultivated areas, roadside vegetation, gardens etc. P. hysterophorus is considered as one of the worst weeds responsible for causing health problems in animals and humans viz., dermatitis, asthma and bronchitis besides loss to agriculture and ecosystem. Nowadays, it has become one of the major weeds in almost all types of agricultural lands and other areas. Many control methods ranging from preventive, physical methods by manual uprooting, burning and allelopathic management through competitive plants like Cassia tora, Cassia uniflora Cassia sericea, have been recommended for management of P. hysterophorus. Likewise, insect Zygogramma bicolorata has proven successful in managing P. hysterophorus. Further, microorganisms like Alternaria alternata, Scerotiia sclerotiorum, Fusarium Pallidoroseum, Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomanas campestris are reported to infest P. hysterophorus. Use of chemical herbicides mainly glyphosate @ 2.5 kg a.i.ha-1,atrazine @ 2.6 kg a.i.ha-1,2,4-D amine @ 3 l/ ha-1, Paraquat 0.5 l/ ha-1 were proved effective in managing P. hysterophorus. No single option is suitable to control this invasive weed. Successful control of this weed can only be achieved by an integrated weed management approaches.
"Survival and dispersal of the stem-boring weevil, Listronotus setosipennis, and the leaf-feeding beetle, Zygogramma bicolorata, one year after their release for the control of the invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, at two locations in Ethiopia"