Abstract
The high resistance to control by herbicides of stands of the aggressively-invasive water plant Crassula helmsii (Australian swamp stone crop or New Zealand Pygmy Weed, also sold as Tillaea recurva) was shown during a series of tank and field trials aimed at: firstly, selecting the most appropriate UK-approved herbicide showed that diquat, either directly or in alginate form was effective on submerged plants particularly at low biomass, whereas for emergent stands, although glyphosate was initially selected as effective, diquat was subsequently recommended; secondly, the efficacy of the herbicides selected under a range of conditions of biomass, season of application and, particularly, field conditions showed that whilst low biomasses could be controlled and the plant could probably be eliminated, elevated or multiple applications would be necessary at the very high biomasses (up to 45 kg fresh weight per m2) achieved by this plant, unless the bulk of the biomass could be physically reduced prior to herbicide application; further trials were considered necessary to meet legal current constraints.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Cooke, A. S. (ed.), 1986. The use of herbicides on nature reserves. Focus on Nature Conservation Series 14. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough, 80 pp.
Dawson, F. H., 1988. The alien aquatic Crassula helmsii continues to expand its distribution in Britain. BSBI News 49: 43.
Dawson, F. H., 1989. Some attempts at the control of the alien aquatic Crassula helmsii (T. Kirk) Cockayne. BSBI News 51: 46.
Dawson F. H., & E. A. Warman, 1987. Crassula helmsii; is it an aggressive alien aquatic plant in Britain? Environmental Conservation 42: 247–272.
Dawson, F. H., 1994. The spread of Crassula helmsii (Kirk) Cockayne in Britain. In L. de Waal, L. Child, P. M. Wade & J. H. Brock (eds). J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester: Ecoloy & Management of Invasive Riverside Plants: 1–14.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Dawson, F.H. (1996). Crassula helmsii: attempts at elimination using herbicides. In: Caffrey, J.M., Barrett, P.R.F., Murphy, K.J., Wade, P.M. (eds) Management and Ecology of Freshwater Plants. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 120. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5782-7_38
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5782-7_38
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6441-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-5782-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive