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Observations on the effect of the weevils Neochetina eichhorniae Warner and Neochetina bruchi Hustache on the growth of water hyacinth

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Abstract

Water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. is an aquatic weed that infests most of the White Nile system in the Sudan. Serious economical and ecological problems are caused by this weed. The two weevils Neochetina eichhorniae and Neochetina bruchi were imported and released in an attempted biological control against the weed. The adults of these weevils attack the plant and feed by removing tissues from the leaf pseudolamina and petioles. The larvae tunnel inside the petioles and the crown. The optimum temperature for feeding and development of both species is 25° C. Results obtained from stocking hyacinth plants with adults and larvae of both species separately revealed that N. bruchi is more efficient in checking the growth of the plant. The progeny of a pair of N. bruchi and N. eichhorniae reared separately on 41 hyacinth plants for a period of 61 days (one generation period) reduced their population growth by 25.4% and 12.7% respectively. The progeny of both species in a mixed culture reduced the growth of the plants by 22.5% in the same period, while in the control the population of the plants increased 136.6%.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture, Sambat, Sudan

    M. O. Bashir

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Sambat, Sudan

    Z. E. El Abjar

  3. COPR, Salisbury, Wiltshire, U.K.

    N. S. Irving

Authors
  1. M. O. Bashir
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  2. Z. E. El Abjar
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  3. N. S. Irving
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Bashir, M.O., El Abjar, Z.E. & Irving, N.S. Observations on the effect of the weevils Neochetina eichhorniae Warner and Neochetina bruchi Hustache on the growth of water hyacinth. Hydrobiologia 110, 95–98 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025780

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00025780

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