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Comparative Biocontrol of Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus) and Yellow Nutsedge (C. esculentus) with Bactra verutana under Greenhouse Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

K. E. Frick ,
R. D. Williams ,
P. C. Quimby Jr.  and
R. F. Wilson
R. F. Wilson
Affiliation:
South. Weed Sci. Lab., Agric. Res., Sci. Ed. Admin., U.S. Dep. Agric., Stoneville, MS 38776
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Abstract

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) and yellow nutsedge (C. esculentus L.) appeared to be equally acceptable for oviposition by caged Bactra verutana Zeller, but purple nutsedge was significantly more suitable as a host: 90% of the larvae survived to maturity on purple nutsedge compared with 65% on yellow nutsedge. Responses of the plant species to both larval feeding injury and plant density were similar but purple nutsedge tended to be injured more than yellow nutsedge. At a high shoot density (nine shoots per pot), production of tubers by purple nutsedge was more adversely affected by feeding of five larvae per shoot than was production by yellow nutsedge: tuber dry weights were reduced 93 and 80% and numbers of tubers per pot were reduced 77 and 62%, respectively. Production of inflorescences was greatly reduced in both species. The effect of B. verutana on inflorescences may be more important for yellow nutsedge, which is generally considered to reproduce freely by seeds. Both species of nutsedge probably would be about equally affected by augmentation of B. verutana populations as a method of biological control.

Keywords

Intraspecific competitionplant densitypartitioning
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , March 1979 , pp. 178 - 183
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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