2. Mimosa diplotricha
• Common name: Giant sensitive plant, creeping sensitive plant,
nila grass.
• Local name: Anathottawadi
Taxonomic position:
• Division: Magnoliophyta
• Class: Magnoliopsida, Order: Fabales
• Distribution: South and South -East Asia, Pacific islands,
Northern Australia, South and Central America, Africa,
Nigeria and France
3. • Altitude: 0-2000m
• In evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, infestation is limited
to the fringes of the forest wherever the canopy is open due to
disturbance
• The weed is heliophytic in adaptation and cannot grow under a
closed canopy
• It is drought-resistant but senesce leaves during dry conditions.
4. • Fast growing, erect shrub and a scrambling climber
• Annual plant
• Leaves are bright green, feathery, alternate, each leaf with about 20
pairs of small leaflets
• Stem is four-angled, woody at the base, re-curved thorns (3-6mm
long)
• Inflorescence: clustered fluffy ball, pale pink colour, corolla is
gamopetalous
5.
6. • There are twice as many stamens as petals
• The pods are clustered, 10 - 35 mm long and 6 mm wide,
linear, flat, clothed with small prickles, splitting transversely
into one-seeded sections at the groves
• Seeds are flat, ovate, spiny
• Seed production is in the range of 8,000 - 12,000 per m2
7.
8.
9. • The weight of 1,000 seeds is around 6 gm
• Flowering: August to February
• Seed setting: September to February
• Seed dispersal: running water, carried in animal fur, clothing, vehicles
• Seeds are known to lie dormant up to 50 years
• Scrambles vigorously over other plants,
• It smothers and kills indigenous flora.
10. • In India, Mimosa smothers other invasive weeds such as
Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha
Threat and damage
• Thick growth of Mimosa prevents the regeneration,
reproduction and growth of indigenous species in all infested
areas
13. • All parts of the plant are toxic to herbivores if ingested
• It produces a toxin (mimosin - a non-protein amino acid),
which can cause vascular endothelial damage, necroses of the
heart and liver and anemia in cattle.
• The tangled and thorny growth of Mimosa hampers movement
and access to food and other resources for wild animals
14. Uses
• It is used as nitrogen fixing cover crop and green manure in
several countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
15. Control Measures
• Mechanical: Uprooting and burning, grubbing and slashing
are the most common methods
• Uprooting is the most efficient method to control the weed.
This should be done at least twice a year to achieve a
satisfactory level of control
• The first uprooting may be done before flowering and seed
setting and the second soon after the first showers when
seedlings emerge from seeds arriving from other sources.
• Slashing is not advisable since the weed can easily re-generate
from the cut stumps
16. Chemical
• Use of glyphosate (0.75 kg), paraquat (0.5 kg), diuron (2 - 4
kg)
• The applications are to be done before the onset of flowering
and fruiting
17. Biological
• Heteropsylla spinulosa: causes growing tip distortion and
reduces seed production
• Corynespora cassiicola: stem spot, defoliation and dieback
• Psygida walkeri : A moth which feeds on the leaves, flower
buds, tender seedpods and tender stems
20. • Taxonomic position:
• Division: Magnoliophyta
• Class: Magnoliopsida,
• Order: Asterales
• Family: Asteraceae
• Common name: American rope, Chinese creeper, mile-a-
minute weed
• Local names: American vally, silk vally, kaipu vally,
Dhritharashtra pacha (Kerala)
21. • A perennial twining herb with 5-ribbed branches
• Leaves are opposite
• Flowering : August – January
• Fruit setting starts 17-21 days after flowering (Sept- Feb)
• A single stalk can produce 20,000 - 40,000 mature seeds in
one season
• Dispersal of the seeds occurs between October and April
• The mean number of seeds per mg is 108 ± 12
22. • The plants can grow vegetatively from the nodes and very
small segments of the stem
• Growth of young plants is extremely fast (8 - 9 cm in 24
hours)
• Seed dispersal: wind, animals and water currents
• The germination percentage of seeds is very low (8-12%)
• Light, water, soil nutrients and fire affect the germination
of seeds
• The main mode of propagation is vegetative
23. • Habitat: Wet places, forest borders and clearings, along the
banks of streams and rivers, roadsides and railway tracks, in
pastures, forest plantations, agricultural and agro - forestry
systems, open disturbed areas and barren lands
• Grows luxuriantly on leached and nutrient poor sandy loam to
clayey soils
• Produce a large quantity of biomass in a single life span (C3
plant).
24. • Positive response to high potassium levels in soils
• Heavy grazing and browsing promotes the spread of Mikania
into new ecosystems
• The weed cannot tolerate shade and hence fails to penetrate
undisturbed natural forest areas
• competes with trees and other crop plants for soil nutrients,
water and sunlight
• The weed can reduce light interception by covering the canopy
of trees
• The adverse effect of Mikania on crops and soil properties is
through the production of phenolic and flavanoid compounds
25. • Natural Forest:
• reduction in species richness, habitat destruction,
• Species monopolization and new microsite formation
• The weed renders collection of non-wood products (e.g., reed
extraction) from natural forests less profitable, since heavy
overgrowth of the weed disrupts collection.
28. Mikania growing along
the banks of water bodies
Mikania smothering vegetation in a degraded
natural forest
Mikania overgrowing banana
29. Control measures
• Mechanical: Sickle weeding, uprooting and digging
• Sickle weeding before flowering and seed setting gives
temporary control. But quick re-growth from cut stumps
frustrates this method
• Uprooting during the initial stages of growth (before flowering
and fruiting) is the most effective mechanical control method.
• The slash and burn technique is also practiced widely. the
• weed stock may survive burning and produce young shoots in
a couple of months
• Mechanical control method is very labour intensive and
uneconomical.
31. • Chemical : Both pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides
are generally used for Mikania control
• Pre-emergence application of oxyflourfen (0.06 kg ha-1) +
paraquat (0.24 kg ha1) is reported to be effective if applied
before flowering or seed setting.
• Glyphosate (0.5 to 4.5 kg ha1 or 0.75 to 8 l ha-1) especially in
forest plantations
• Diuron at the rate of 1-2 kg ha1, triclopyr + picloram
(commercial name Grazon DS) @ 1.75 l ha-1 and triclopyr
(commercial name Garlon 600) @ 500 ml ha-1
32. • Biological:
• A microcyclic rust Puccinia spegazzinii
Leaf and petiole infection on Mikania
caused by Puccinia spegazzinii
34. • A floating aquatic fern that thrives in slow-moving, nutrient-
rich, warm, freshwater.
• A rapidly growing competitive plant
• Grows well in water temperatures around 20–30 ˚C.
• Common name: African payal, aquarium watermoss
• Dispersed through water bodies
• Form dense vegetation mats that reduce water-flow and lower
the light and oxygen levels in the water.
35. • Invasions can alter wetland ecosystems and cause wetland
habitat loss
• It produces a horizontal rhizome (that lies below the water
surface) and two types of fronds (buoyant and submerged).
• The surface of each fronds is covered with long, stiff, water-
repellent hairs.
• Believed to be a sterile hybrid. It does not produce flowers—
reproducing only by vegetative means
• Reproduction occurs when mature plants produce buds at the
stem node (the join between sections of the stem) which
develop to form daughter plants.
36. • Salvinia prefers warmer temperatures and, because it’s frost
sensitive, it produces little growth in winter. When summer
temperatures rise, salvinia increases its vegetative growth.
Threats:
• High rates of transpiration through the leaves during summer
can cause up to four times more water to be lost than is
normally lost through water surface evaporation.
• Reduce the infiltration of sunlight necessary for native plant
growth
37. • Heavy weed cover also prevents the exchange of air that
normally occurs on an open-water surface.
• As the plant dies and decomposes, oxygen is removed from
the water, causing water pollution and stagnation. This
stagnation affects water quality, and may result in the death of
aquatic animals
38. Control measures
Biological control
• Cyrtobagous salviniae (salvinia weevil)
• The salvinia weevil is 2–3 mm long and dark brown to black.
It is most effective when air temperatures are 27–35˚C and
plant nitrogen levels are high
• The salvinia weevil larvae feed on the new growth buds and
tunnel into the rhizome. Tunnelling weakens the salvinia,
reducing its ability to grow and compensate for bud loss.
• In the initial stages of weevil damage some salvinia leaves will
turn brown. As the salvinia weevils continue their control
efforts, the whole mat will turn brown, sink underwater and
finally decompose the time taken for weevils to control
salvinia varies from 1–3 years.
40. • Mechanical control: Removal of salvinia by hand or machine is a
practical control method often used for small areas
• Burial is the quickest means of disposal
Chemical control:
• Calcium dodecylbenzene sulphonate (1 part in 19 parts of kerosene)
• Orange oil + sufactant (1 litre/100 litre of water)
• 360 g/L Gyphosate as isopropylamine and mono ammonium salts
• Diquat (50-100 L/ha)
43. • A low, erect or subscandent, vigorous shrub which can grow to
2 - 4 meters in height
• The leaf is ovate or ovate oblong, 2 - 10 cm long and 2 - 6 cm
wide, arranged in opposite pairs.
• Leaves are bright green, rough, finely hairy, with serrate
margins and emit a pungent odour when crushed
• Flower heads contain 20 - 40 flowers
44. • Colour varies from white, cream or yellow to orange pink,
purple and red
• Flowering occurs between August and March, or all year
round if adequate moisture and light are available
• Pollinators include lepidopteran species and thrips.
• The fruit is a greenish blue-black colour, 5 - 7 mm in diameter,
drupaceous, shining, with two nutlets
45. • Seed setting takes place between September to May with 1 -
20 seeds on each flower head.
• Mature plants produce up to 12,000 seeds annually
• Seed germination occurs when sufficient moisture is present;
germination is reduced by low light conditions
• The root system is very strong with a main taproot and a mat
of many shallow side roots
47. • Fruit dispersal is through frugivorous birds, fox and rodents
• Seeds are capable of surviving the hottest fires grows best in
open, un-shaded conditions such as wastelands, the edges of
rain forests, on beachfronts, in agricultural areas, grasslands,
riparian zones, scrub/shrub lands, urban areas, wetlands and
forests recovering from fire or logging. Roadsides, railway
tracks and canal banks are favored by the species
• The plant is found at altitudes from sea level to 2,000 m and
can thrive very well under rainfall ranging from 750 to 5000
mm per annum
48. • Where natural forests have been disturbed through logging
creating gaps, Lantana encroaches in the gaps.
• As the density of Lantana in natural forest areas increases,
species richness decreases.
• Layering is a form of vegetative reproduction in Lantana
where the stem send roots into soil, allowing it to quickly form
very dense stands and spread short distances.
49. Threat and damage
• Threatens natural habitats and native flora and fauna.
• The allelopathic qualities of Lantana reduce the vigour of
native plant species and limits their productivity
• In dense stands of Lantana, the capacity of the soil to absorb
rain is lower than under good grass cover. This could
potentially increase the amount of run-off and the subsequent
risk of soil erosion
• Lantana has been implicated in poisoning of a number of
animals including cattle, buffalo, sheep and goats since its
leaves and seeds contain the toxic triterpenoids, Lantadene A
and Lantadene B
50. Control Measures
Mechanical control
• Stickraking, bulldozing, ploughing , grubbing, Hand cutting
using brush cutters, hand pulling, chain pulling and flame
weeding
• Re-growth will be imminent if the rootstock is not removed
while weeding not recommended in areas susceptible to
erosion.
• Fire is often used prior to mechanical or herbicidal control to
improve their effectiveness or as a follow-up to such methods
51. • Fire itself can provide some control when used under the right
conditions, especially if the fires are hot and the Lantana is
actively growing.
• Re-vegetation of a treated site by planting trees or encouraging
naturally occurring seedlings is a key component of a Lantana
management program.
52. Manual cutting of Lantana
Control of Lantana using fire
Chemical control of Lantana Teleonemia scrupulosa
53. Chemical control
• Use of fluroxypyr @ 0.5 to 1 liter / 100 l water,
• Glyphosate @ 1l / 100 l water, triclopyr @ 1l / 60 l of water
and Grazon DS (300 g/l triclopyr + 100 g/l picloram) @ of 350
ml/100 l water per ha is recommended.
• Post emergence application of glyphosate (2 kg ha-1) may
provide good control. Applications are to be done
• When there is good soil moisture and during the active
growing period, either in the morning or late in the afternoon.
54. Biological control
• Not successful in controlling the weed effectively
• The sap-sucking bug, Teleonemia scrupulosa (Hemiptera),
• Leaf mining beetles, Octotoma scabripennis (Coleoptera) and
Uroplata girardi (Coleoptera) and the seed feeding fly,
Ophiomyia lantanae (Diptera)
55. Chromolaena odorata
• Belongs to family: Asteraceae
• A scrambling perennial shrub, with straight, pithy, brittle stems
• three-veined, ovate-triangular leaves placed oppositely
• shallow, fibrous root system
• In open-land situations, C. odorata grows to 2–3min height,
but it can reach up to 5–10mwhen supported by other
vegetation
56. • Plants grow vigorously throughout the wet season and
flowering is initiated by a decrease in both day length and
rainfall
• Flowering peaks in December–January in the northern
hemisphere and June–July in the southern hemisphere
• fertile seed is produced without pollination, as the species is
apomictic
• Seeds are dispersed by wind, as well as via animal fur,
clothing, and vehicles
57. • Most seed loses its viability after a year
• Forest gaps that naturally develop through tree-fall are
colonized rapidly by C. odorata, suppressing the recruitment of
trees
• In dry season it is a fire hazard, the dry pithy stems and leaves
are rich in oils and burn readily
58. Control measures
• Mechanical: Slashing and burning followed by frequent
hoeing and uprooting
• Biological control: Using Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata
• Chemical control: Glyphospate( 360 g/l) @ 100ml/10l of
water, Triclopyrester (480g/l) @ 37.5ml/10l of water,
Imazapyr (100g/l) @ 200ml/ 10L of water
59. Cassia spectabilis
• Taxonomic position
• Kingdom :Plantae
• Phylum :Magnoliophyta
• Class :Magnoliopsida
• Subclass :Rosidae
• Order: Fabales
• Family: Fabaceae
• A small, rounded deciduous tree, 7-10 m tall, with a spreading crown
• Leaves alternate, compound, with 4-15 pairs of leaflets
• Leaflets narrowly elliptic
• Base rounded, apex, acute, margin entire
• Inflorescence large, terminal, lateral, leafy panicles
60. • Flowers: fragrant, composed of 5 rounded hairy bracts, which
are ovate, sepals orange-yellow, unequal, ovate to
suborbicular; Petals yellow
• Fruit cylindrical or flattened pods
• Orthodox seed
• Seeds can be stored for up to 2 years
• There are about 39000 seeds/kg
61. Control Measures
• Mechanical: Cutting or girdling
• Removing seed pods from the forest immediately after they
fall to the ground before seeds
• Chemical control: Hack and squirt method or bark injection
(Hacks a small cuts in the trunk of target trees and squirts an
herbicide solution into the cut.)
• Herbicides used: Arsenal AC (10%), Garlon 3A and 2-4,D
Amine
62. Parthenium hysterophorus
• Family: Asteracea
• Common name: altamisa, carrot grass, bitter weed,
star weed, white top, wild feverfew, the “Scourge of
India” and congress grass
• An aggressive annual herbaceous weed
• Often spotted on abandoned lands, developing
residential colonies around the towns, railway tracks,
roads, drainage and irrigation canals, etc.
63. • A single plant can produce 10,000 to 15,000 viable seeds
• Threats:
• Health hazards to humans and livestock
• Reducing agricultural and pasture productivity
• Biodiversity loss due
Control measures
• Mechanical control: Hand hoeing
• Chemical control: 2,4- D
64. • Biological control: Not succesful the insect consumes only the
foliage of the weed , the flowers and seeds, which are the main
source of its dissemination, remain unaffected.
65. Ficus benghalensis
• Family: Moraceae
• they are capable of germinating in native host trees, where
they grow as epiphytes, eventually destroying their hosts
(engulfing)
• Wide spreading banyan with copious aerial roots
• Leaves broadly ovate, obtuse, the base cordate
• Figs paired, sessile, maturing orange to red
66. Control measures
• Physical control: small seedlings on the ground or as epiphytes
can be pulled out.
• Chemical control: particularly sensitive to triclopyr
herbicides
• Biological control: Using natural enemies of the pollinators
67. Ficus religiosa
• Family: Moraceae
• Local names: wisdom tree, ficus,peepal,bodhi tree
• Irregularly-shaped tree, with wide-spreading branches ,
without aerial roots from the branches
• The trunk is regularly shaped, often with low buttresses
68. • Leaves alternate, spirally arranged and broadly ovate, glossy,
coriaceous (leathery), dark green leaves
• Flowers axillary sessile, unisexual
• flowers in February and fruits in May to June
• New leaves appear in April in India
• The pollinator wasp for Ficus religiosa is Blastophaga
quadraticeps
• When seeds are dropped on other trees, they germinate. The
seedlings rely on the host plant only for anchorage as F.
religiosa does not parasitize on other plants. They derive their
nutrition from the air and rainfall, until the roots reach the
ground
