Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T00:27:26.484Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Suppression of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) by a bioherbicidal fungus and plant competition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Raghavan Charudattan
Affiliation:
Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
Donn G. Shilling
Affiliation:
Mid-Florida REC–Apopka, University of Florida, Apopka, FL 32703

Abstract

The possibility of using the fungus Bipolaris sacchari as a bioherbicide to suppress cogongrass and to allow the establishment of bahiagrass in cogongrass–bahiagrass mixed plantings was investigated under greenhouse conditions. The bioherbicide was prepared by mixing B. sacchari spore suspension containing 105 spores ml−1 with an oil emulsion composed of 16% horticultural oil plus 10% light mineral oil and 74% sterile water. The bioherbicide caused severe foliar blight in cogongrass and slight phytotoxic damage on bahiagrass. In the first experiment, the bioherbicide reduced cogongrass biomass without affecting bahiagrass biomass. In the second experiment, the bioherbicide caused a 64% reduction in fresh weight, a 74% reduction in the number of rhizomes, and a 47% reduction in the height of cogongrass. The latter experiment also showed an increase in bahiagrass fresh weight in the presence of cogongrass when the bioherbicide was applied. This study indicates the potential of combining bioherbicide application with competition from a desirable grass species as a strategy for the integrated management of cogongrass.

Type
Weed Management
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Anonymous. 2000. History, Genetics, and Origin of Bahiagrass, Paspalum notatum Turf Cultivars. www.floridaturf.com/bahia/origins.htm.Google Scholar
Ayres, P. G. and Paul, N. D. 1990. The effects of disease on interspecific plant competition. Asp. Appl. Biol 24:155162.Google Scholar
Beard, J. B. 1980. St. Augustine, zoysia and bahiagrass cultivar update. Grounds Maintenance 15:6668.Google Scholar
Bruckart, W. L. and Hasan, L. 1991. Options with plant pathogens intended for classical control of range and pasture weeds. Pages 6979 in TeBeest, D. O. ed. Microbial Control of Weeds. New York: Chapman and Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burdon, J. J., Groves, R. H., Kaye, P. E., and Speer, S. S. 1984. Competition in mixtures of susceptible and resistant genotypes of Chondrilla juncea in southeastern Australia. J. Appl. Ecol 18:199203.Google Scholar
Busey, P. and Myers, B. J. 1979. Growth rates of turfgrass propagated vegetatively. Agron. J 71:817821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clay, K., Cheplick, G. P., and Marks, S. 1989. Impact of the fungus Balansia henningsiana on Panicum agrostoides: frequency of infection, plant growth and reproduction, and resistance to pests. Oecologia 80:374380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coile, N. C. and Shilling, D. G. 1993. Cogongrass, (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.): A Good Grass Gone Bad! Gainesville, FL: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Botany Circular, Volume 28. 3 p.Google Scholar
Dickens, R. 1974. Cogongrass in Alabama after sixty years. Weed Sci 22:177179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falvey, J. L. 1981. Imperata cylindrica and animal production in Southeast Asia: a review. Trop. Grassl 15:5256.Google Scholar
Gaffney, J. F. 1996. Ecophysiological and Technological Factors Influencing the Management of Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica). Ph.D. dissertation. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 128 p.Google Scholar
Groves, R. H. and Williams, J. D. 1975. Growth of skeleton weed (Chondrilla juncea L.) as affected by growth of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterranean L.) and infection by Puccinia chondrillina Bubak and Syd. Aust. J. Agric. Res 26:975983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holm, L. G., Plucknett, D. L., Pancho, J. V., and Herberger, J. P. 1977. The World's Worst Weeds: Distribution and Biology. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. 609 p.Google Scholar
Hubbard, C. E., Brown, D., Gray, A. P., and White, R. O. 1944. Imperata cylindrica: taxonomy, distribution, economic significance and control. Imp. Agric. Bur. Joint Publ 7:163.Google Scholar
Paul, N. D. 1989. The effects of Puccinia lagenophorae on Senecio vulgaris in competition with Euphorbia peplus . J. Ecol 77:552564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, N. D. and Ayres, P. G. 1986. Interference between healthy and rust-infected groundsel (Senecio vulgaris L.) within mixed populations of different densities and proportions. New Phytol 104:257269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosskopf, E. N., Charudattan, R., and Kadir, J. B. 1999. Use of plant pathogens in weed control. Pages 891918 in Fisher, T. W., Bellows, T. S., Caltagirone, L. E., Dahlsten, D. L., Huffaker, C., and Gordh, G. eds. Handbook of Biological Control. San Diego, CA: Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shilling, D. G., Bewick, T. A., Gaffney, J. F., McDonald, S. K., Chase, C. A., and Johnson, E. R. R. L. 1997. Ecology, Physiology, and Management of Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica). Bartow, FL: Florida Institute of Phosphate Research Publication 03-1070-140. 144 p.Google Scholar
Templeton, G. E., TeBeest, D. O., and Smith, R. J. Jr. 1979. Biological weed control with mycoherbicides. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol 17:301310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Loan, A. N., Meeker, J. R., and Minno, M. C. 2002. Cogon grass. Pages 353364 in Van Driesche, R., Blossey, B., Hoddle, M., Lyon, S., and Reardon, R. eds. Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States. Morgantown, WV: United States Forest Service.Google Scholar
Watson, V. H. and Burson, B. L. 1985. Bahiagrass, Carpetgrass, and Dallisgrass in Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture. Ames: Iowa State University Press. Pp. 255257.Google Scholar
Watson, A. K. and Wymore, L. A. 1990. Identifying limiting factors in the biocontrol of weeds. Pages 305316 in Baker, R. and Dunn, P. eds. New Directions in Biological Control. UCLA Symposium of Molecular and Cellular Biology, New Series 112. New York: Alan R. Liss.Google Scholar
Willard, T. R. and Shilling, D. G. 1990. The influence of growth stage and mowing on competition between Paspalum notatum and Imperata cylindrica . Trop. Grassl 24:8186.Google Scholar
Yandoc, C. B. 2001. Biological Control of Cogongrass, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 193 p.Google Scholar