Re: need hepl to know more about purple loosestrife??? -- SD/NE Purple Loosestrife MGMT Project Discussion

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Date Posted: 07:13:01 02/24/01 Sat
Author: Cathy
Subject: Re: need hepl to know more about purple loosestrife???
In reply to: linda 's message, "need hepl to know more about purple loosestrife???" on 19:38:07 02/22/01 Thu

>I am doing a project on purple loosestrife and i want
>to know how is it harmful to our envierment??? and
>what happens to the bettels after the loosestrife dies
>off. our they going to become a danger to us????
Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is a non-native invasive species that is devastating wetlands and wetland habitats by "outcompeting" native plant species. Loosestrife originated in Eurasia and was brought to this country by early immigrants as a medicinal/garden plant. It also arrived on our shores by way of ship ballast. It has now spread to 46 of the 48 contiguous states and thousands of dollars are being spent trying to erradicate this species. Many states have banned the sale or cultivation of purple loosestrife, even the so called self-sterile varieties.

Each mature loosestrife plant can produce from 100,000 to 2,000,000 seeds each summer. The plants form a massive web of roots that crowd out native plants species and don't provide good habitat or food for wildlife. Loosestrife doesn't have any natural enemies here in North America.

Traditional methods of control - hand pulling, chemical treatment, are time and labor consuming and have not proven effective. There is such a large seedbank in the soil that if mature plants are removed, the first plant to come back is purple loosestrife. Scientists turned to nature for a solution. In its native homeland, purple loosestrife is kept in check by natural predators - several varities of insects which feed on loosestrife. Scientists have studied these insects and found that some were "plant specific", which means they feed exclusively on purple loosestrife. After doing extensive studies two species of Galerucella beetles and Hyperlobius weevils were chosen as the most promising as biological control agents. While these insects may not completely erradicate purple loosestrife they will reduce the size and number of plants, making it non-competitive with natural plant species. The beetle population will die back as the loosestrife population decreases. We have released thousands of beetles here in Wisconsin since 1996 and are beginning to see a substantial decrease in loosestrife, some release sites are no longer producing any blooms and plants are stunted. For more information, check out Cornell University's website. Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin all have loosestrife control programs and information on their states websites. Hope this helps.

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