Training lambs to be weed eaters: Studies with leafy spurge
نویسندگان
چکیده
The objective of the study was to determine if exposure of young lambs to leafy spurge (Euphorbia e&u L.) would increase the consumption of this plant. Orphan lambs were exposed to leafy spurge from birth to 11 weeks of age as a water soluble extract mixed with milk replacer and as freshly harvested plants. Ewereared lambs were exposed to leafy spurge by grazing them on a leafy spurge-infested pasture. Study 1 investigated the consumption of vegetative and flowering leafy spurge paired with arrowleaf balsam root (Balsamorhiza sagiftata (Pursh)Nutt.) by orphan lambs during a 30-mm feeding period. Experienced lambs consumed a higher percentage leafy spurge than naive lambs (P<O.O3). The interaction of leafy spurge phenophase and previous experience (X0.02) showed that experienced lambs preferred leafy spurge regardless of phenophase (70% of intake) and naive lambs only preferred leafy spurge when it was vegetative. Study 2 investigated the preference for leafy spurge on pastures with high or low leafy spurge biomass. Experienced compared to naive lambs had a higher percentage of bites (P<O.OOl) and preferred leafy spurge in the high spurge biomass pasture, but not in low biomass pastures. Naive lambs avoided leafy spurge in both pastures. Study 3 was a pasture trial that investigated spurge consumption by orphan and ewe-reared lambs. Percent bites and time spent grazing leafy spurge were not affected (C-0.23) by previous exposure, but daily herbage removal was greater (P<O.O9) in pastures grazed by experienced compared to naive lambs (876 vs. 685 g/lamb, respectively). Experienced ewe-reared lambs had a higher rate of biting on leafy spurge (PCO.06) than naive or orphan Lambs. These studies indicate that previous experience will be an important factor affecting the use of sheep as a biological control agent for leafy spurge.
منابع مشابه
Estimation of leafy spurge cover from hyperspectral imagery using mixture tuned matched filtering
Leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L. is an adventive, perennial weed that infests approximately 1.2 million ha of land in North America. It often forms dense stands that displace native vegetation and useful forage plants on rangelands and in riparian habitats. Leafy spurge is a good candidate for detection via remote sensing because the distinctive yellow-green color of its bracts is spectrally un...
متن کاملBIOLOGICAL AND MICROBIAL CONTROL Inundative Release of Aphthona spp. Flea Beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) as a Biological “Herbicide” on Leafy Spurge in Riparian Areas
Inundative releases of beneÞcial insects are frequently used to suppress pest insects but not commonly attempted as amethod of weed biological control because of the difÞculty in obtaining the required large numbers of insects. The successful establishment of a ßea beetle complex, mixed Aphthona lacertosa (Rosenhauer) and Aphthona nigriscutus Foundras (87 and 13%, respectively), for the control...
متن کاملInundative release of Aphthona spp. flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) as a biological "herbicide" on leafy spurge in riparian areas.
Inundative releases of beneficial insects are frequently used to suppress pest insects but not commonly attempted as a method of weed biological control because of the difficulty in obtaining the required large numbers of insects. The successful establishment of a flea beetle complex, mixed Aphthona lacertosa (Rosenhauer) and Aphthona nigriscutus Foundras (87 and 13%, respectively), for the con...
متن کاملA model for predicting invasive weed and grass dynamics . II . Accuracy evaluation
Roger L. Sheley U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, 67826-A Highway 205, Burns, OR 97720 The impact of invasive weed management on plant community composition is highly dependent on location-specific factors. Therefore, treatment means from experiments conducted at a given set of locations will not reliably predict community response to weed management elsewhere. We de...
متن کاملSoilborne microorganisms of Euphorbia are potential biological control agents of the invasive weed leafy spurge
Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula-virgata), a native of Eurasia, is a serious invasive weed of grasslands of the northern Great Plains of the U.S. and prairie provinces of Canada. Leafy spurge is very difficult to control with herbicides, insect biological control agents, and other cultural practices. Previous field investigations revealed pathogen–insect interactions on the roots of leafy spurge l...
متن کامل