Sclerotinia sclerotiorum shows potential for controlling water lettuce alligator weed and wandering Jew

Abstract

The responses of six aquatic environmental weeds (water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) ferny azolla (Azolla pinnata) parrots feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) and bladderwort (Utricularia giba) and a terrestrial weed (wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis)) to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were evaluated The fungus was applied as a myceliumonbarley formulation to individual containergrown plants Visual scores of lesion development revealed that a watery softrot disease caused by the pathogen developed in the treated water lettuce alligator weed and wandering Jew plants In water lettuce the pathogen resulted in 100 mortality of treated plants 54 days after application Shoot necrosis was 4 (control) and 24 (treated) for wandering Jew and 9 (control) and 17 (treated) for alligator weed at 35 and 52 days after inoculation respectively These results indicate that S sclerotiorum has potential as a mycoherbicide for controlling water lettuce and possibly also alligator weed and wandering Jew