SUPPRESSIVE POTENTIAL OF SOME PERENNIAL GRASSES ON THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF AMBROSIA ARTEMISIIFOLIA

Senka Milanova, Miroslava Valkova, Svetla Maneva, Vladimir Vladimirov

Abstract: Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) is one of the worst invasive alien species in Europe with a strong negative impact on human health and agriculture. Therefore, search for effective methods for its control is crucial. The aim of this study was to test the suppressive potential of some perennial grasses on the growth and seed production of A. artemisiifolia. For this purpose, greenhouse and outdoor pot trials were conducted. The following grass species were used in different combinations – Lolium perenne ‘Temprano’, Dactylis glomerata ‘Alba’ and Phleum pratense ‘Tundra’. Commercially available seeds of the grasses were obtained, whereas the seeds of A. artemisiifolia were collected from established populations in Kostinbrod town, West Bulgaria. For comparison with chemical control some trial variants were treated with Maton 600 EC (600 g/L 2,4 D ester). Fresh weight of biomass per plot, height of plants and the number of A. artemisiifolia plants were recorded three times in 2010–2011 in the greenhouse experiments and four times in 2011–2012 in the outdoor trials. Also, at the end of each vegetation season the seeds of A. artemisiifolia in each pot were collected and counted. The data was processed by the analysis of variance using F-test for testing significance and LSD for significance of difference between control and variants at levels of P<0.05. The results showed that all the three grass species can effectively suppress the growth and seed formation in common ragweed, although L. perenne developed more rapidly from the first year, and thus expressed its suppressive capacity earlier than the other two species. At the time of last recording of the results there were no significant differences between the variants treated and not treated with herbicides except for the pure A. artemisiifolia stands (control trials). Thus, the study offers an effective means for control of A. artemisiifolia in waste lands and disturbed areas by combining the use of competitive perennial tuft-forming grasses and discontinued soil disturbance.

Keywords: Ambrosia, control of invasive species, invasive species, suppressive potential

Date published: 2017-04-28