Parthenium avoids drought: Understanding the morphological and physiological responses of the invasive herb Parthenium hysterophorus to progressive water stress

Cowie, Blair W.; Byrne, Marcus J.; Witkowski, E.T.F.; Strathie, L. W.; Goodall, Jeremy; Venter, Nic

doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2019.103945

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Substantial increases in the growth and reproduction of P. hysterophorus under elevated CO 2 , could also intensify the demands of spraying programs, requiring more frequent, rigorous and costly follow‐ups . Additionally, the climatic changes expected with increasing CO 2 may further reduce glyphosate efficacy by limiting herbicide uptake, effective spraying times and spraying conditions . Mitigations to these potential problems might be attained through the rotation of herbicide types, however, South Africa currently only has one non‐glyphosate herbicide (Picloram) registered for the control of P. hysterophorus , which may limit this approach at present.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of elevated carbon dioxide on the susceptibility of the globally invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, to glyphosate herbicide

Cowie

Venter

Witkowski

et al. 2020

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUND The noxious annual herb, Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae), is an invasive weed of global significance, threatening food security, biodiversity and human health. In South Africa, chemical control is frequently used to manage P. hysterophorus, however, concern surrounds increasing atmospheric CO2 levels, which may reduce the efficacy of glyphosate against the weed. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the susceptibility of P. hysterophorus to glyphosate (1L/ha: recommended) after being grown for five generations in Convirons under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (600 and 800 ppm) CO2. RESULTS Glyphosate efficacy decreased with increasing CO2, with mortalities of 100, 83 and 75% recorded at 400, 600 and 800 ppm, respectively. Parthenium hysterophorus experienced enhanced growth and reproduction under elevated CO2, however, glyphosate application was highly damaging, reducing the growth and flowering of plants across all CO2 treatments. Physiologically, glyphosate‐treated plants, in all CO2 treatments, suffered severe declines of >90% in chlorophyll content, maximum quantum efficiency (F v/Fm), photon absorption (ABS/RC), electron transport (ET 0/RC) and performance index (PI ABS), albeit at slower rates for plants grown under elevated CO2. Low levels of recovery from glyphosate were documented only for plants grown under elevated CO2 and was attributed to their increased biomass. CONCLUSION These results suggest that increasing CO2 levels may hinder chemical control efforts used against P. hysterophorus in the future, advocating for further investigation using multigenerational CO2 studies and the maintenance of effective spraying programs at present. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of elevated carbon dioxide on the susceptibility of the globally invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, to glyphosate herbicide

Cowie

Venter

Witkowski

et al. 2020

Pest Management Science

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“…Interestingly, neither total seed production nor seed longevity were significantly affected by drought, while the seed fill rate was marginally reduced under dry conditions (Nguyen et al 2017a). Recently, Cowie et al (2020a) reported that parthenium weed plants could tolerate progressive water stress conditions, applied over a 6-week period, by undergoing morphological changes in canopy development, leaf growth, and the timing of flowering. The stressed plants maintained positive photosynthetic activity and improved their water use efficiency by up to 300% compared to plants grown under normal moisture conditions (Cowie et al 2020a).…”

Section: Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

A superweed in the making: adaptations of Parthenium hysterophorus to a changing climate. A review

Mao

Bajwa

Adkins

2021

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is a globally invasive plant with significant negative impacts on the environment, agriculture, economy, and health. This invasion problem is likely to be exacerbated by climate change. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO 2 ]), high ambient temperatures, heatwaves, and droughts will facilitate the establishment, range expansion, and interference potential of this invasive species while making its management more difficult. Here, for the first time, we review the potential impact of climate change elements on parthenium weed biology and management at regional and global levels. We establish that (1) parthenium weed plants morphologically and physiologically adapt to sustain or promote their growth, fecundity, competitive ability, and allelopathic effect under most climate change scenarios; (2) climate change elements can reduce the relative vigor of neighboring plants, especially C4 grasses, in competition with parthenium weed, providing this invasive species a competitive edge; (3) elevated [CO 2 ] has the most pronounced positive effect on parthenium weed performance compared to other climate change elements; (4) the efficacy of a widely used herbicide, glyphosate, may be reduced on parthenium weed grown under elevated [CO 2 ]; (5) mixed effects have been reported for biological control agents, with some losing ground, while others are maintaining or improving their efficacy; and (6) a greater risk of spread and range expansion under sustained climate change will pose greater challenges for management in natural and managed ecosystems. There has been a disturbing transition of this weed from noncropped landscapes to agroecosystems in response to recent climatic and land use changes. All evidence presented in this review suggests that the situation will be greatly aggravated if drastic management interventions are not implemented. Therefore, the research, policy, and outreach focus must be revisited and revamped considering the impacts of climate change to develop pragmatic solutions to combat this "superweed".

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“…However, P. hysterophorus still produced an abundance of seed, despite suffering reductions in vegetative growth and resource availability. This is attributed to the plant's annual and often ephemeral nature, in which abiotic or biotic stressors, resulting from competition, cause P. hysterophorus to forgo vegetative growth, favouring investment in flowering/seed production and offering reproductive assurance (Cowie et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within these regions, P. hysterophorus typically germinates during October, with the onset of the first spring rains, forming a leafy basal rosette (Strathie et al, 2011;Tanveer et al, 2015). The weed then bolts, maturing rapidly and producing an abundance of flowers and subsequently seed, often in excess of 30 000 per plant, until it senesces during mid-autumn (Strathie et al, 2011;Cowie et al, 2020a). These P. hysterophorus invasions are particularly troublesome in grazed or disturbed savannas/rangelands, where the weed forms recurring and dense monospecific stands, with extensive and persistent seedbanks (Nigatu et al, 2010;Belgeri et al, 2014;Nguyen et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasible or foolish: Attempting restoration of a Parthenium hysterophorus invaded savanna using perennial grass seed

Cowie

Byrne

Witkowski

2021

Journal of Environmental Management

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The annual herb Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae), remains one of Southern Africa's most significant invasive weeds, commonly invading savannas, and their rangelands, causing severe losses to agriculture, livestock production and native biodiversity. Previous studies have suggested that perennial grasses may act as useful competitive species, capable of suppressing the growth and invasion of P. hysterophorus. To explore this, a total of 48 plots were established within an invaded savanna, using a randomised block design, and included treatments with and without the clearing of P. hysterophorus, as well as with and without the sowing of native perennial grass seed (Anthephora pubescens, Chloris gayana, Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria eriantha, Eragrostis curvula, Panicum maximum and Themeda triandra). Plots were assessed yearly in terms of P. hysterophorus density and growth as well as grass species composition, basal cover, and biomass over a three-year period. Clearing alone was found to exacerbate invasion, increasing P. hysterophorus density by 40%. Whereas the sowing of grass seed, in both the cleared and uncleared plots, increased the abundance of perennial grass species by 28%, subsequently reducing the size, reproductive output and density of P. hysterophorus over the three years. In addition, these sowing efforts contributed towards partial restoration of the plots, enhancing grass basal cover by ~15% and biomass production by 17%. Overall, this research suggests that sowing of native grass species, with or without clearing, may be a useful supplementary control or restoration tool towards the long-term management of P. hysterophorus invasions in managed savannas and rangelands in Southern Africa.

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Parthenium avoids drought: Understanding the morphological and physiological responses of the invasive herb Parthenium hysterophorus to progressive water stress

Cited by 21 publications

References 40 publications

Implications of elevated carbon dioxide on the susceptibility of the globally invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, to glyphosate herbicide

Implications of elevated carbon dioxide on the susceptibility of the globally invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, to glyphosate herbicide

A superweed in the making: adaptations of Parthenium hysterophorus to a changing climate. A review

Feasible or foolish: Attempting restoration of a Parthenium hysterophorus invaded savanna using perennial grass seed

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