PESTICIDES SELECTED FOR NATURAL-ENEMY EXCLUSION TRIALS IN SOUTH AFRICA DO NOT INFLUENCE THE GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION OF INVASIVE SENECIO MADAGASCARIENSIS Page No: 5093-5096

Olieve G. Zuma, Kerinne J. Harvey, Terence Olckers

Keywords: Fireweed, pesticide impacts, weed biological control, invasive plants.

Abstract: Pesticide-based natural-enemy exclusion trials can accurately determine the efficacy of biocontrol agents on invasive weeds, provided that the chemicals have negligible effects on the plants. In an enemy-free environment, we assessed whether applications of the insecticide (imidacloprid) and fungicide (tebuconazole) affected the performance of the highly invasive Madagascar ragwort. Applications of the insecticide and fungicide, used alone and in combination, had no significant effects on the growth and flowering of Madagascar ragwort. Thus, these pesticide treatments can facilitate subsequent enemy exclusion trials used to assess the impact of established biocontrol agents on Madagascar ragwort populations in the field.



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