Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
The parthenium winter rust was first observed in South Africa, in the town of
Brits, in the northwest province (Wood and Scholler 2002) in 1995, and now also
occurs in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. However, the winter rust
was not intentionally released as a biological control agent in South Africa, and also
the strain known to occur here does not appear to be widespread or aggressive (e.g.
Kumar and Evans 1995).
12.4.8.5 Sri Lanka
Biological control effects were initiated in 2003 with the importation of the stem-gall-
ing moth
E. strenuana
and the summer rust
P. melampodii
from Australia (Jayasuriya
2005). Host-specificity tests confirmed the suitability and safety of the stem-galling
moth
E. strenuana
as a biological control agent for parthenium in Sri Lanka, and the
moth was field released in 2004 (Jayasuriya 2005). The summer rust was imported to
Sri Lanka in 2003, and the pathogenicity and host-specificity tests indicate that this
rust is suitable for release in Sri Lanka (Jayasuriya 2005). Attempts to establish the
leaf-feeding beetle
Z. bicolorata
in quarantine in Sri Lanka have not been successful.
12.4.8.6
Papua New Guinea
Attempts to establish colonies of the leaf-feeding beetle
Z. bicolorata
and the stem-
galling moth
E. strenuana
in quarantine in Papua New Guinea so far have failed.
12.5
Managing Parthenium Across Landscapes
12.5.1 Cropping Area
Parthenium is a weed of a wide range of crops in several countries (Table 12.4).
In India, parthenium is a problem in cropping areas in majority of the States
(Angiras and Saini 1997; Mahadevappa 1997; Patil et al. 1997; Dawson and
Sarkar 1997; Sarkar 1997) and causes yield losses of up to 40% in crops (Khosla
and Sobti 1979) and reduces forage production by up to 90% (Nath 1981). In
Ethiopia also, parthenium is primarily a weed in cropping areas and is ranked as
the most serious weed by the farmers (Tamado and Milberg 2000). Hand hoeing
and hand pulling are the most common management options, which are effective in
controlling parthenium in maize and sorghum (Fessehaie et al. 2005). The use of
herbicides by Ethiopian small scale farmers is not economically feasible (Tomado
and Milberg 2000, 2004) due to the low-economic value of the crops. In South
Africa, parthenium is a problem weed in sugarcane and banana growing areas.
Registered herbicides are available to manage parthenium in crops (e.g. Mahadevappa
