The Effect of Slashing on the Growth of Watsonia Meriana (L.) Mill. Cv Bulbillifera in the Adelaide Hills
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Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.8(3) 1993 85 ment of Conservation and Land Manage- ment and Mr. B. Lord of the Charles Sturt University, is gratefully acknowledged. The effect of slashing on the growth of Watsonia meriana (L.) Mill. cv bulbillifera in the Adelaide Hills References Australian Institute of Environmental Studies (1976). ‘The Threat of Weeds to P.A. Wilson and J.G. Conran, Department of Botany, University of Ad- Bushland, a Victorian Study’. (Inkata elaide, SA 5006, Australia. Press, Melbourne, Australia). Gillison, A.N. (1984). Gradient oriented sampling for resource surveys. In ‘Sur- Summary vey Methods for Nature Conservation’, In order to control Watsonia meriana cv suggested that it is merely a local sport ed. K. Myers and D.R. Margules. Vol 2. bulbillifera by slashing, it is necessary to which has been introduced into cultiva- Proceedings of Workshop 1983. prevent flowering and bulbil produc- tion. Currently Watsonia meriana cv Heddle, E.M. (1980). Effects of Changes in tion, as well as reduce the strength of the bulbillifera is considered a weed in Aus- Soil Moisture on the Nature Vegetation corm. The effects of slashing at a tralia, Mauritius, Réunion (Goldblatt of the Northern Swan Coastal Plain, number of heights, and at a range of 1989) and New Zealand (Parsons and Western Australia. Bulletin 92, Forests times throughout the plant’s life-history Cuthbertson 1992). The earliest record in Department of Western Australia. were investigated both for mature South Australia dates from 1842 at Lamont, D. A. (1987). Vegetation Survey plants and those derived from bulbils. Camden Park, Adelaide (Parsons and of Serpentine National Park, Map Plants derived from bulbils require Cuthbertson 1992). The species’ extent 1697C. Department of Conservation slashing prior to their thirteenth week of within Australia has been described by and Land Management, Western Aus- growth if cormlet production towards the Animal and Plant Control Commis- tralia. the next season’s growth is to be signifi- sion (1991), Cooke (1986), Parsons and Levin, R.I. and Rubin, D.S. (1980). ‘Ap- cantly affected. Mature plants should be Cuthbertson (1992) and to a lesser extent plied Elementary Statistics’. Chapter 10. slashed below the most basal node Dashorst and Jessop (1990). It tends to in- pp. 357–73. (Prentice-Hall Inc., New (about 15 cm or less) at the first appear- fest pastures and natural reserves, and Jersey, USA). ance of the inflorescence if both bulbil proliferates within unused land. It is a de- Parsons, W.T. (1973). ‘Noxious Weeds of and corm production are to be mini- clared weed in South Australia, Victoria Victoria’. pp. 176–8. (Inkata Press, Mel- mized. (Carr et al. 1992) and New South Wales. bourne, Australia). Within South Australia, it occurs most ex- Pate, J.S. and Dixon, K.W. (1982). ‘Tuber- Introduction tensively from Victor Harbour to the ous, Cormous and Bulbous Plants. Bi- The introduction of exotic and ornamen- Barossa Valley and within the South East. ology of an adaptive strategy in West- tal plants to South Australia over the past Dashorst and Jessop (1990) describe ap- ern Australia’. Chapter 3–5, pp. 142, 143 157 years has resulted in several garden proximately the areas of infestation, al- and 146. (University of Western Aus- escapees finding the climate and ecologi- though more accurate survey data are tralia Press, Perth, Western Australia). cal conditions of the state ideal in which needed. Within the Adelaide hills, the Whittaker, R.H. (1973). Direct gradient to establish (Kloot 1987a,b,c). Among the weed is evident along roadsides, heavily analysis techniques. In ‘Ordination and numerous introduced South African taxa, invading natural vegetation, and forms Classification of Communities’, ed. Watsonia meriana (L.) Mill. cv bulbillifera stands which are generally impenetrable R.H. Whittaker. Handbook of Vegeta- has invaded the foothills and pasture by other herbs and shrubs, either native or tion Science No. 5, 9–31. (Dr W. Junk, lands of the state’s southern areas with re- introduced. Agriculturally viable land is The Hague). markable speed and strength. made redundant by Watsonia infestation. Wood H. (1986). ‘Ecology 1, Practical Notes and Manual’. Riverina-Murray Species description and distribution Life history Institute of Higher Education, Division Watsonia meriana cv bulbillifera is a Watsonia meriana cv bulbillifera is a of External Studies, Wagga Wagga, cormous perennial native to Southern Af- cormous perennial, sprouting in mid Au- New South Wales. rica and is also known as W. bulbillifera J. tumn after sufficient rain. Flowering oc- Mathews and L. Bolus. Its common curs from October to mid-December, with names are bulbil watsonia, bugle lily, wild aestivation (die-back) by late January. The watsonia (Cooke 1986) and Merian’s bu- corm remains dormant over the dry sea- gle lily (Parsons and Cuthbertson 1992). son within an outer tunic of coarse matted Goldblatt (1989) considers the taxon to be fibres. The root system is relatively simple a cultivar of W. meriana, believing it to and does not penetrate the soil much be- have developed independently the ability yond 12 cm from the corm. The shoot to grow reproductive propagules (bulbils) arises from the corm apex and extends a number of times. Watsonia meriana sens. through the tunic before emergence. As str. often produces bulbils within the axils the shoot elongates, its base swells at the of the lower leaves and branch axils, al- point of junction with the parent corm though not to the extent of W. meriana cv and develops into the next season’s corm. bulbillifera, which develops bulbils at all The parent corm shrinks as the stem nodes along the flower spike (Figure 1). grows, forming a hard, dead plate-like The natural distribution of W. meriana is structure attached to the base of the new the Cape winter rainfall area of Southern corm. Plants generally consist of the cur- Africa in seasonally moist areas with rent year’s corm with a series of plates sandy or thin rocky soils. The distribution stacked beneath. In the field, some corms of cv bulbillifera is not described have been observed with thirty-five (Goldblatt 1989) and, as no collections ex- plates, indicating the minimum age of ist prior to the 19th century, Goldblatt some Watsonia stands. 86 Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.8(3) 1993 The most definitive characteristic of W. plant up to mid-way through the inflores- Cuthbertson (1992), plants developing meriana cv bulbillifera is the formation of cence. The bracts encasing the bulbils be- from bulbils do not flower until the sec- numerous vegetative propagules at the gin to split and open just prior to flower- ond or third year. Much of the available inflorescence nodes. These are referred to ing. As the plant matures, the bulbils con- information on the control of W. meriana as ‘bulbils’ by Goldblatt (1989) and Cooke tinue to grow and dry during dieback. cv bulbillifera for South Australia comes (1986) and ‘cormils’ by Parsons and These propagules are then dispersed and from personal communications from land Cuthbertson (1992). Bulbils resemble develop into small plants. Bulbils de- holders and the Animal and Plant Con- miniature corms with short curved beaks, velop in much the same way as the adult trol Commission. Previous efforts to con- and enable the plant to reproduce asexu- corms, with a small cormlet produced at trol Watsonia can be summarized under ally. The bulbils form prior to anthesis in the shoot base, above a shrunken bulbil the following categories: the axils of each node from the base of the (Figure 2). According to Parsons and i. Chemical control Parsons and Cuthbertson (1992) de- scribe the use of 2,2-DPA, Amitrol T, Flower Paraquat and TCA to control Watsonia, indicating that the most effective time of application is between the formation of the shoot and inflorescence. How- ever, the tendency of Watsonia to infest native scrub creates problems associ- ated with applying herbicides within native vegetation reserves. ii. Ecological control Grazing on Watsonia has been docu- Secondary bulbils mented by Parsons and Cuthbertson (1992) and although claimed to be poi- sonous to stock, this is not a problem within Australia. Nevertheless, stock grazing on already established stands have little effect, as discussed by Par- sons and Cuthbertson (1992). iii.Cultural control of weeds Removal of unwanted plants can occur by mechanical means such as burning, slashing, hoeing and bulldozing (Menz and Auld 1977). The most commonly used methods for Watsonia in South Australia involve corm lifting, hoeing and slashing. The strategy behind con- Bulbil sites Current corm Pre-season corm (Corm plate) Figure 2. Morphology of a first Figure 1. Morphology of Watsonia meriana cv bulbillifera showing the season bulbil shoot with next position and relative size of bulbil clusters along the inflorescene. seasons cormlet. Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.8(3) 1993 87 trolling plants with underground stor- emerged were divided into groups of 10. sen corms within each quadrat were re- age tissue through slashing is to cull the One group was cut at 25 mm above moved, dried and weighed. In each ex- plants at the stage in their life history ground level and the remainder were periment, the relative corm increment from which recovery is minimal. Pate culled successively, one group per week, was calculated for each plant and the data and Dixon (1982) summarized the im- until the onset of aestivation, with one arcsine transformed and subjected to portance of storage tissue to the annual group left unslashed as a control. When ANOVA (Zar 1986) and post hoc Tukey regeneration of species with bulbs, tu- the plants had died back, they were testing. bers or corms, as do others (Phillips and unpotted, cleaned and divided into Rix 1989).