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Herbicide Evaluation for Control of Wild Taro
Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), is an exotic, emergent perennial that has established in many shallow-water wetlands throughout the southern United States. Although wild taro is a cultivated crop in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, its invasion in riverine and lacustrin...
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Published in: | Journal of aquatic plant management 2000-01, Vol.38, p.70-72 |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Wild taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), is an exotic, emergent perennial that has established in many shallow-water wetlands throughout the southern United States. Although wild taro is a cultivated crop in many tropical and subtropical areas of the world, its invasion in riverine and lacustrine wetlands in the U.S. has resulted in the loss of habitat for native plant species. Once established, wild taro forms dense, monotypic stands that reduce the diversity of native vegetation, as has occurred in Louisiana, Florida, and Texas (Akridge and Fonteyn 1981, Simberloff et al. 1997). Akridge and Fonteyn (1981) reported that although wild taro is considered naturalized in south-central Texas, its present dominance along the San Marcos River has altered the native vegetational structure and dynamics of this river system. One of the concerns for using herbicides to remove wild taro, and thereby restore the native emergent plant community at this site, is the potential impact of chemical treatment to neighboring stands of Texas wild rice (Zizania texana Hitchc.), a federally listed endangered plant that grows exclusively in the San Marcos River. Restoration and preservation of native plant communities in conjunction with chemical management practices are achievable goals. Recent research on the use of herbicides to selectively control nuisance, exotic species has demonstrated that aquatic herbicides can be safely used to remove a target species with minimal harm to non-target communities (Getsinger et al. 1997, Netherland et al. 1997, Petty et al. 1998). Little information is available on the use of currently labeled aquatic herbicides for control of nuisance populations of wild taro. Moreover, the non-target effects of herbicide application on Texas wild rice are also unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of four aquatic herbicides for control of wild taro. |
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ISSN: | 0146-6623 |