BioControl (2007) 52, 271-288

Alan William Vilela Pomella, Robert Weingart Barreto and Raghavan Charudattan (2007)
Nimbya alternantherae a potential biocontrol agent for alligatorweed, Alternanthera philoxeroides
BioControl 52 (2), 271-288
Abstract: Alligatorweed, (Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb.), an aquatic and wetland plant native to South America, is an aggressive weed in many parts of the world. Its ability to compete with other native plants and to impede waterways has made it a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems. Although biological control with insects has been fairly successful in aquatic habitats, there is a need for additional agents to manage the weed in upland sites. Accordingly, in a survey in Brazil in 1997 a fungus, Nimbya (=Alternaria) alternantherae (Holcomb and Antonopoulus) Simmons and Alcorn, was discovered and confirmed to be highly damaging to alligatorweed. Studies were conducted to determine the potential of this fungus for controlling this weed. Several isolates from Brazil, USA, and Puerto Rico were compared and no differences in virulence were observed, although a lower dew requirement was demonstrated for the Brazilian isolates. Conidia were more effective than mycelial suspension, and inoculum concentrations of 1×10⁵ and 1×10⁶ conidia per ml provided significant levels of control of the weed in greenhouse and field experiments, respectively. In a host-range study, N. alternantherae infected 6 plant species from a total of 42 species belonging to 23 families. N. alternantherae has the potential to be an effective mycoherbicide for alligatorweed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Robert Weingart Barreto, Raghavan Charudattan

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
non-target effects/fate in environm.

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Alternanthera philoxeroides (weed)
Nimbya alternantherae (weed pathogen)	Alternanthera philoxeroides (weed)		Puerto Rico