ARS | Publication request: Arundo Donax - giant reed; an invasive weed of the Rio Grande Basin.

Submitted to: Weed Science Society of America Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 16, 2007
Publication Date: June 30, 2007
Citation: Goolsby, J., Kirk, A., Jones, W.A., Everitt, J.H., Yang, C., Spencer, D.F., Tarin, D., Nibling, F. 2007. Arundo Donax - giant reed; an invasive weed of the Rio Grande Basin.. Weed Science Society of America Meeting Proceedings. CDROM.

Technical Abstract: Arundo donax L., giant reed is an exotic and invasive weed of riparian habitats, irrigation canals and transportation drainages of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Giant reed dominates these habitats, which leads to: loss of biodiversity; catastrophic stream bank erosion; damage to bridges; increased costs for chemical and mechanical control along irrigation canals. Most importantly, this invasive weed consumes water resources in an arid region where these resources are critical to the environment, agriculture and urban users. Arundo donax is a good target for biological control because it has no close relatives in North or South America, and several insects from Mediterranean Europe are known to be monophagous. Our research program includes: 1) remote sensing and ecophydrology to determine the distribution and water use of giant reed in the Rio Grande River Basin; 2) use of microsatellites to determine the origin(s) of the invasive North American vegetative clones; 3) field studies in the native range; 4) pre-release quarantine impact studies on candidate agents, integrating ecohydrology and plant architecture to select the most promising agent(s) for full host range testing and potential release as biological control agents.