Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) Declared Noxious Weed Looks pretty, but Water Hyacinth is justifiably called one the world’s worst aquatic weed due to its ability to rapidly cover whole waterways. and costs billions of dollars every year in control costs and economic losses. In Australia, it forms dense, impenetrable mats over the water surface. Specific impacts include: • blocking irrigation channels and rivers • restricting livestock access to water • destroying natural wetlands, eliminating native aquatic plants • reducing infiltration of sunlight and changing the temperature, pH and oxygen levels of water • increasing water loss through transpiration (greater than evaporation from an open water body) • restricting recreational use of waterways and aesthetic value • destroying fences, roads and other infrastructure when large floating rafts become mobile during flood events, and • destroying pastures and crops when large floating rafts settle over paddocks after flood events. Water hyacinth will rapidly take over an entire waterway. Under favourable conditions it can double its mass every 5 days, forming new plants on the ends of stolons. It also grows from seed which can remain viable for 20 years or longer. This enormous reproductive capacity causes annual reinfestation from seed and rapid coverage of previously treated areas, making ongoing control necessary. If you see this weed, do not remove it - take a photo, note the location and immediately contact with your friendly local council Weed Officer. For more information see dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/weeds/profiles/water-hyacinth Photos courtesy of DPI NSW website and ACC.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 04:03:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015