Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-31T08:04:47.605Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

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

R. F. Wilson
Affiliation:
South. Weed Sci. Lab., Agric. Res., Sci. Ed. Admin., U.S. Dep. Agric., Stoneville, MS 38776

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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 1979 by the 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

1. Frick, K. E. 1978. Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.): a case for augmentation. Pages 145–51 in Freeman, T. E., ed. Proc. IV International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.Google Scholar
2. Frick, K. E. and Garcia, C. Jr. 1975. Bactra verutana as a biological control agent for purple nutsedge. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 68:714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Frick, K. E. and Quimby, P. C. Jr. 1977. Biocontrol of purple nutsedge by Bactra verutana Zeller in a greenhouse. Weed Sci. 25:1317.Google Scholar
4. Frick, K. E., Williams, R. D., and Quimby, P. C. Jr. 1977. Effects of Bactra verutana and intraspecific competition on the growth of purple and yellow nutsedge. Abstr. Weed Sci. Soc. Am. 1977:78.Google Scholar
5. Garcia, C. Jr. and Frick, K. E. 1975. Bactra verutana, a possible biological control agent of purple and yellow nutsedge: large scale rearing on artificial diet. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 68:1518.Google Scholar
6. Habib, R. 1976. Bactra spp. in Pakistan and their potential as biocontrol agents of Cyperus rotundus . PANS 22:449508.Google Scholar
7. Holm, L. G., Pluncknett, D. L., Pancho, J. V., and Herberger, J. P. 1977. The World's Worst Weeds, Distribution and Biology. Univ. Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. 609 pp.Google Scholar
8. Justice, O. L. 1956. Germination behavior in seeds of nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus L.). Assoc. Offic. Seed Anal. Proc. 46:6771.Google Scholar
9. Justice, O. L. and Whitehead, M. D. 1956. Seed production, viability, and dormancy in the nutgrasses Cyperus rotundus and C. esculentus . J. Agric. Res. 73:303318.Google Scholar
10. Keeley, P. E., Thullen, R. J., and Miller, J. H. 1970. Biological control studies on yellow nutsedge with Bactra verutana Zeller. Weed Sci. 18:393395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Killinger, G. B. and Stokes, W. E. 1946. Chufas in Florida. Univ. Florida Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 419. 16 pp.Google Scholar
12. Martin, A. C., Zim, H. S., and Nelson, A. L. 1951. American Wildlife and Plants. Dover Publ., Inc., New York. 500 pp.Google Scholar
13. McAtee, W. L. 1939. Wildfowl Food Plants. Collegiate Press, Inc., Ames, Iowa. 141 pp.Google Scholar
14. Mulligan, G. A. and Junkins, B. E. 1976. The biology of Canadian weeds. 17. Cyperus esculentus L. Can J. Plant Sci. 56:339350.Google Scholar
15. Poinar, G. O. Jr. 1964. Studies on nutgrass insects in southern California and their effectiveness as biological control agents. J. Econ. Entomol. 57:379383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Power, F. B. and Chesnut, V. K. 1923. Chemical examination of “chufa,” the tubers of Cypers esculentus L. J. Agric. Res. 26:6975.Google Scholar
17. Reid, W. S., Hergert, G. B., and Fagan, W. E. 1972. Development of a prototype mechanical harvester for ‘chufa’ (Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus Beek). Can. Agric. Eng. 14:8995.Google Scholar
18. Sieckert, E. E., Ritenour, G. L., and Davis, H. G. 1974. An artificial medium and rearing techniques for the colonization of Bactra verutana . Environ. Entomol. 3:196197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19. Williams, R. D., Quimby, P. C. Jr., and Frick, K. E. 1977. Intraspecific competition of purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) under greenhouse conditions. Weed Sci. 25:477481.Google Scholar