Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae)
The alien invasive plant Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) has been reported to impend smallholder farmers’ livelihood, and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. While earlier studies reported that the invasion may be supressed if plant density in invaded habitats is sufficiently main...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272100012X |
| _version_ | 1819139443524632576 |
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| author | Fredrick Ojija Christopher Ngimba |
| author_facet | Fredrick Ojija Christopher Ngimba |
| author_sort | Fredrick Ojija |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The alien invasive plant Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) has been reported to impend smallholder farmers’ livelihood, and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. While earlier studies reported that the invasion may be supressed if plant density in invaded habitats is sufficiently maintained, only a few quantitative experiments on competition between legume (Fabaceae) fodder plants and invasive plant species have been conducted. We determined whether three selected test legume fodder species, Desmodium intortum (greenleaf desmodium), Lablab purpureus (hyacinth bean) and Medicago sativa (lucerne), can suppress P. hysterophorus growth. These legumes were selected because they have been used to suppress various weeds in sub-Saharan Africa owing to their rapid growth, strong root systems, bigger leaf canopy, high biomass production and capacity to form many branches. Also, they are used by livestock as forage when other fodders are dry and become limited. The legume fodder plant species and P. hysterophorus were grown as mono- and mixed cultures in pot experiments. Fifty-day-old P. hysterophorus seedlings were harvested to determine any suppressive abilities of the legume species against the invasive. We found that the growth of P. hysterophorus was negatively impacted when grown with two or three test legume species compared with monoculture. Respectively, stem height, total fresh biomass and leaf chlorophyll content of P. hysterophorus seedling were reduced by >60%, >59%, and >70% when grown in combination with all three legume fodder species compared with sole cropping or in mixture with just D. intortum or M. sativa. The results suggest that the selected legume fodder plants have the ability to suppress growth of P. hysterophorus. Further, this study demonstrates the potential importance of using legume fodder plant species in the management of alien invasive plants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T11:22:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-91e09d47185b47a4902664731b078a4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2665-9727 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T11:22:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental and Sustainability Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-91e09d47185b47a4902664731b078a4e2022-12-21T18:27:50ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272021-06-0110100111Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae)Fredrick Ojija0Christopher Ngimba1Department of Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania; Department of Applied Sciences, Mbeya University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Mbeya, Tanzania; Corresponding author. Department of Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 447, Arusha, Tanzania.Department of Applied Sciences, Mbeya University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 131, Mbeya, TanzaniaThe alien invasive plant Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) has been reported to impend smallholder farmers’ livelihood, and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. While earlier studies reported that the invasion may be supressed if plant density in invaded habitats is sufficiently maintained, only a few quantitative experiments on competition between legume (Fabaceae) fodder plants and invasive plant species have been conducted. We determined whether three selected test legume fodder species, Desmodium intortum (greenleaf desmodium), Lablab purpureus (hyacinth bean) and Medicago sativa (lucerne), can suppress P. hysterophorus growth. These legumes were selected because they have been used to suppress various weeds in sub-Saharan Africa owing to their rapid growth, strong root systems, bigger leaf canopy, high biomass production and capacity to form many branches. Also, they are used by livestock as forage when other fodders are dry and become limited. The legume fodder plant species and P. hysterophorus were grown as mono- and mixed cultures in pot experiments. Fifty-day-old P. hysterophorus seedlings were harvested to determine any suppressive abilities of the legume species against the invasive. We found that the growth of P. hysterophorus was negatively impacted when grown with two or three test legume species compared with monoculture. Respectively, stem height, total fresh biomass and leaf chlorophyll content of P. hysterophorus seedling were reduced by >60%, >59%, and >70% when grown in combination with all three legume fodder species compared with sole cropping or in mixture with just D. intortum or M. sativa. The results suggest that the selected legume fodder plants have the ability to suppress growth of P. hysterophorus. Further, this study demonstrates the potential importance of using legume fodder plant species in the management of alien invasive plants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272100012XBiological invasionsDesmodium intortumFamine weedInvasive speciesLablab purpureus |
| spellingShingle | Fredrick Ojija Christopher Ngimba Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) Environmental and Sustainability Indicators Biological invasions Desmodium intortum Famine weed Invasive species Lablab purpureus |
| title | Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) |
| title_full | Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) |
| title_fullStr | Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) |
| title_short | Suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed Parthenium hysterophorus (Asteraceae) |
| title_sort | suppressive abilities of legume fodder plants against the invasive weed parthenium hysterophorus asteraceae |
| topic | Biological invasions Desmodium intortum Famine weed Invasive species Lablab purpureus |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266597272100012X |
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