Reducing the fitness of an invasive weed, Parthenium hysterophorus: Complementing biological control with plant competition

Abstract

We studied the effects of a biological control agent, Epiblema strenuana Walker (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) alone and together with a sown native grass, Astrebla squarrosa C.E. Hubb. and an introduced pasture plant, Clitoria ternatea L. on growth and seed production of Parthenium hysterophorus L. Astrebla squarrosa and C. ternatea individually reduced shoot dry biomass of P. hysterophorus by 30 and 42%, respectively; and by 48 and 70%, respectively in the presence of biological control agent, E. strenuana. Similarly, A. squarrosa and C. ternatea individually reduced weed seed production up to 48 and 64%, respectively; and by 73 and 81%, respectively in the presence of E. strenuana. In the presence of E. strenuana, the biomass of A. squarrosa and C. ternatea was increased by 13 and 10%, respectively. The biological control agent induced more galls per P. hysterophorus plant when either of the competing plants were present than when grown alone. The abundance of galls increased with pasture competition, but only for C. ternatea, and not for A. squarrosa. The biological control agent worked synergistically with the two competitive plants to reduce the growth and production of viable seed, which should lead to a decrease in the P. hysterophorus soil seed banks in the field, and eventually seedling recruitment in future generations of P. hysterophorus.