scholarly journals  ​Management Options of Mikania micrantha: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atiqur Rahman Bora ◽  
Dasi Sunil Babu ◽  
Sita Chetry ◽  
Sontara Kalita

The world’s problematic perennial weed Mikania micrantha hampers in crop production and causes enormous losses due to its interference. Management of M. micrantha by mechanical and chemical methods has not met with any reasonable success. So, it has become a target for classical biological control. Numerous natural indigenous plant species, fungi and insects were tried as bio-control agents for effective control of M. micrantha. However, along with bio-control, appropriate mechanical, chemical and cultural methods are required to be integrated for controlling it. Thus, integrated management approaches for control of M. micrantha should be evolved against this invasive weed in long run.

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 107
Author(s):  
Kusinara Wijayabandara ◽  
Shane Campbell ◽  
Joseph Vitelli ◽  
Asad Shabbir ◽  
Steve Adkins

Whilst exotic invasive species are a major threat to natural and modified ecosystems around the world, management programs to reduce their impacts often fail due to a lack of information about their biology and how best to control them in various situations. This paper reviews the currently available information on the biology, distribution, and management options for the invasive weed Senecio madagascariensis Poir. (fireweed). In addition, we developed a model to predict the climatic suitability of this weed around the world based on the current climate. Senecio madagascariensis originates from southern Africa but it has been introduced to several other countries including Australia. Climatic suitability suggests that there are large areas around the world suitable for the weed’s growth where it is currently not present. The weed poses a major threat to livestock industries in these countries through its ability to reduce pasture production and poison animals. A range of control techniques have been used to try and manage S. madagascariensis. This paper highlights how a better understanding of the biology of S. madagascariensis can help determine the most effective treatments to impose and to further develop integrated management strategies. Besides using traditional approaches, the use of competitive pastures and more tolerant livestock (such as sheep and goats) are some of the other options recommended as part of an integrated approach. On-going research to identify host-specific biological control agents is also considered a priority.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 2157
Author(s):  
Aakansha Chadha ◽  
Singarayer Florentine

Lactuca serriola L. (wild lettuce) is a highly invasive C3 weed in many countries, including Australia, Canada, and the USA. This weed is a severe threat to agricultural systems, especially in crops grown with reduced or no-tillage approaches, which commonly include wheat, cereals and pulses. Owing to the vertical orientation of its leaves in the north-south plane and its root architecture, L. serriola can maintain high water use efficiency under drought conditions, giving it the ability to expand its range under a drying climate. Each plant can produce up to 100,000 seeds which have no primary dormancy and form a short-term seedbank lasting up to three years. Most seedlings emerge in autumn and overwinter as a rosette, with a small flush of emergence in spring depicting staggered germination. Research into control methods for this weed has been performed, and these methods include chemical herbicides applied alone and in combination, the establishment of plant competition, tillage, mowing and bioherbicide. Herbicides can provide effective control when applied in the seedling or rosette stage; however, spring germination is difficult to control, as it skips the rosette stage. Some biotypes are now resistant to ALS inhibitor and synthetic auxins, causing concern regarding using herbicides. A dedicated integrated management plan for 3–4 years is recommended for the control of this troublesome species. This review will explore the biology, ecology, distribution, current control techniques and previous research on this weed, allowing us to make recommendations for its future research and management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Muhammad Adnan ◽  
Muhammad Sikander Hayyat ◽  
Qaisar Mumtaz ◽  
Muhammad Ehsan Safdar ◽  
Fazal Ur Rehman ◽  
...  

<p>Vegetables are consequently experiencing great yield losses due to weed infestation. Weed management is extremely important for sustainable crop production in all cropping systems. This review paper aimed to provide general information and alternative recommendations for the management of <em>Parthenium hysterophorus</em> weed by chemicals, adjuvants and plant extracts in okra. Different strategies have been used to control parthenium, but no single management solution is sufficient to handle parthenium; hence, different management options need to be combined. Only an integrated approach will achieve effective control over this weed. In areas where parthenium natural enemies are absent, chemical control is an important method of managing this weed. In the control of this plant, the use of chemical herbicides such as chlorimuron ethyl, glyphosate, atrazine, ametryn, bromoxynil and metsulfuron are considered to be efficient. Moreover, various plants have allelopathic potential and attempts have been made to use them in parthenium control. Three allelopathic grasses, namely, <em>Achyranthes aspera</em>, <em>Syzygium </em><em>cumini</em> and <em>Acacia nilotica</em> are able to minimize the plant growth and inhibit early seedling growth of exotic weed <em>P. hysterophorus</em>. The results recommend that the control of parthenium in okra and other summer vegetables using chemical herbicides with single and combination mode of action is still effective compared to the use of plant extracts. The use of herbicides by adding adjuvants has the potential to minimize the use of excessive herbicides.</p>


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Pasqua Veronico ◽  
Maria Teresa Melillo

Plant parasitic nematodes are annually responsible for the loss of 10%–25% of worldwide crop production, most of which is attributable to root-knot nematodes (RKNs) that infest a wide range of agricultural crops throughout the world. Current nematode control tools are not enough to ensure the effective management of these parasites, mainly due to the severe restrictions imposed on the use of chemical pesticides. Therefore, it is important to discover new potential nematicidal sources that are suitable for the development of additional safe and effective control strategies. In the last few decades, there has been an explosion of information about the use of seaweeds as plant growth stimulants and potential nematicides. Novel bioactive compounds have been isolated from marine cyanobacteria and sponges in an effort to find their application outside marine ecosystems and in the discovery of new drugs. Their potential as antihelmintics could also be exploited to find applicability against plant parasitic nematodes. The present review focuses on the activity of marine organisms on RKNs and their potential application as safe nematicidal agents.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Jo Marie Reiff ◽  
Sebastian Kolb ◽  
Martin H. Entling ◽  
Thomas Herndl ◽  
Stefan Möth ◽  
...  

Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae. Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about 10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants (Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated for specific crops and regions.


2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 652-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Calanca ◽  
A. Neftel ◽  
J. Fuhrer

Grassland ecosystems can be regarded as biochemical reactors in which large amounts of organic nitrogen (N) are converted into inorganic N, and vice versa. If managed in a sustainable manner, grasslands should operate in a quasi steady state, characterized by an almost perfect balance between total N input and output. As a consequence, the exchange of gaseous N species (NH3, NO, NO2, N2O, and N2) between grasslands and the atmosphere is very small compared to the total N turnover. In this study, the effects of two management options (mowing and fertilization) on production and emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) from a grass/clover crop were examined on the basis of observations and model results referring to an experiment carried out on the Swiss Plateau in late summer of 2000. It was found that production and emission of N2O induced by mowing were of the same order of magnitude as those brought about by fertilization, suggesting a possible transfer of N from clover to the soil after defoliation. Emissions were strongly modulated by precipitation on time scales ranging from 1 day to 1 week. This indicates that effective control of N2O emissions through management on a day-to-day basis requires reliable medium-range weather forecasts. Model calculations were not able to reproduce essential characteristics of the emissions. The model slightly overestimated the background emissions, but severely underestimated the emission peaks following fertilizer application, and largely failed to reproduce emission induced by mowing. Shortfalls in the model used for this study were found in relation to the description of soil-water fluxes, soil organic matter, and the physiology of clover.


2011 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. BAGAVATHIANNAN ◽  
J. K. NORSWORTHY ◽  
K. L. SMITH ◽  
P. NEVE

SUMMARYThe spread of herbicide resistance in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli(L.) Beauv.) poses a serious threat to crop production in the southern United States. A thorough knowledge of the biology of barnyardgrass is fundamental for designing effective resistance-management programmes. In the present study, seed production of barnyardgrass in response to time of emergence was investigated in cotton and rice, respectively, in Fayetteville and Rohwer, Arkansas, over a 2-year period (2008–09). Barnyardgrass seed production was greater when seedlings emerged with the crop, but some seed production was observed even if seedlings emerged several weeks after crop emergence. Moreover, barnyardgrass seed production was highly variable across environments. When emerging with the crop (0 weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), barnyardgrass producedc. 35 500 and 16 500 seeds/plant in cotton, andc. 39 000 and 2900 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Seed production was observed when seedlings emerged up to 5 WAE (2008) or 7 WAE (2009) in cotton and up to 5 WAE (2008, 2009) in rice; corresponding seed production wasc. 2500 and 1500 seeds/plant in cotton, andc. 14 700 and 110 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest that cultural approaches that delay the emergence of barnyardgrass or approaches that make the associated crop more competitive will be useful in integrated management programmes. In the context of herbicide resistance management, it may be valuable to prevent seed return to the seedbank, irrespective of cohorts. The findings are vital for parameterizing herbicide resistance simulation models for barnyardgrass.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 425-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Widmer ◽  
F. Guermache

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) is an annual invasive weed in the United States with Mediterranean origins. The expense of chemical control and the vast area of invasion make this weed an appropriate target for classical biological control. Observations of a field site in southern France revealed small orange galls on the leaves of yellow starthistle seedlings caused by the fungus Synchytrium solstitiale. Inoculation of yellow starthistle seedlings with a suspension of zoospores released from infected tissue resulted in infection. Ten days after inoculation, typical orange galls appeared on the exposed tissue. Preliminary host range testing showed up to 100% infection of C. solstitialis seedlings from both France and the United States and infection of Carthamus tinctorius, Centaurea americana, C. diffusa, C. rothrockii, C. squarrosa, and Helianthus annuus seedlings. No symptoms were observed on seedlings of Centaurea calcitrapa, C. maculosa, C. sulfurea, Cirsium californica, C. occidentale, Cynera cardunculus, and Taraxacum officinale. Zoospores were released in a pH range between 4.45 and 8.25 and optimally at temperatures between 5 and 15°C. Infection of yellow starthistle seedlings occurred after a minimum 1-h exposure to a zoospore suspension at 20°C.


Agriculture ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitus Ikechukwu Obi ◽  
Juan José Barriuso ◽  
Yolanda Gogorcena

The peach is one of the most important global tree crops within the economically important Rosaceae family. The crop is threatened by numerous pests and diseases, especially fungal pathogens, in the field, in transit, and in the store. More than 50% of the global post-harvest loss has been ascribed to brown rot disease, especially in peach late-ripening varieties. In recent years, the disease has been so manifest in the orchards that some stone fruits were abandoned before harvest. In Spain, particularly, the disease has been associated with well over 60% of fruit loss after harvest. The most common management options available for the control of this disease involve agronomical, chemical, biological, and physical approaches. However, the effects of biochemical fungicides (biological and conventional fungicides), on the environment, human health, and strain fungicide resistance, tend to revise these control strategies. This review aims to comprehensively compile the information currently available on the species of the fungus Monilinia, which causes brown rot in peach, and the available options to control the disease. The breeding for brown rot-resistant varieties remains an ideal management option for brown rot disease control, considering the uniqueness of its sustainability in the chain of crop production.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document