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Invasive Species Mikania Micrantha an Environmental Threat, Its Control with Reference to Eri Silk Worm

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Invasive Species Mikania Micrantha an Environmental Threat, Its Control with Reference to Eri Silk Worm International Journal of Advances in Science Engineering and Technology, ISSN: 2321-9009, Vol-5, Iss-3, Spl. Issue-2 Sep.-2017 http://iraj.in INVASIVE SPECIES MIKANIA MICRANTHA AN ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT, ITS CONTROL WITH REFERENCE TO ERI SILK WORM MAINU DEVI Department of Zoology, Diphu Govt. College Affiliation : Assam University, silchar, Assam, India E-mail: [email protected]. Abstract: Biological invasion is one of the three most difficult environmental problem in the world. The control of invasive species is one of the most urgent challenges in ecology today. Mikania micrantha kunth ex H.B.K. is one of the 100 world’s worst alien species and pose a serious threat to biodiversity and ecosystem. Mikania has been shown to have allelopathic properties that can inhibit the growth of plants. Mechanical control method of Mikania are labour intensive, expensive and not effective in longer term. Efforts has been made to use biological control mechanism to sustainably manage Mikania. According to the information provided by the Silk worm rearers Mikania micrantha is used by a sizable Eri Silk rearers in Karbi Anglong District of Assam, India for want of host plants , particularly at the latter larval stages when the larva starts to eat voraciously. In this paper the nutrient contents of Mikania micrantha and the impact of feeding Mikania micranhta and Ricinus communis ( The primary food plant) on silk quality parameter (denier, tenacity, elongation at break and defective cocoon) of eri silk worm, Samia ricini Donovan have been investigated. Significantly finer denier (1.786±0.070), higher breaking strength or tenacity (3.590±0.150) and lower percentage of elongation at break (24.029±1.557) were recorded in the larvae fed with Mikania leave from III instar till maturity. No defective cocoons were recorded in any case under the laboratory condition conducted under investigation. The equality parameters in Mikania micrantha and Ricinus communis examined by student t- test subscribes the view that moisture (70.90%), ash (12.54%),Calcium (1.63%), and phosphorus (0.57), are significantly higher in Mikania micrantha while the percentage of nitrogen (3.64%), crude protein (22.86%), and crude carbohydrate (33.27%) on dry weight basis in Mikania micrantha did not differ significantly with Ricinus communis (nitrogen : 3.66% ; protein : 22.85% and carbohydrate: 34.30%). Thus Mikania micrantha a commonly available weed all over can be commercially exploited for better growth, development and silk yield of Samia ricini Donovan. Exploitation of Mikania micrantha to this end would also help in controlling its spread to new regions and conserve biodiversity. Key Words: Mikania micrantha, Invasive species, Biodiversity, Biological control, Samia ricini. I. INTRODUCTION reproduces from broken stem fragments. Waterhouse and Mitchell (1998), reported that Mikania Biological invasion is one of the major threats to micrantha interferes with soil nitrification process native Biodiversity and Ecosystem. Mikania and also reduces the carrying capacity of pastaur. micrantha ex H.B.K. (Fig1a), commonly known as In Australia Mikania has been declared a class 1 Bitter Vine, a perennial weed of the Order Asterales, weed in Queensland under the Rural Land Family Asteraceae, has been listed as one of the 100 Protection Act. Mikania has also been worst invasive alien species in the world (Lowe et consistently ranked amongst the top three worst al.2001). It is known for its vigorous and rampant weed by member countries of the Secretariat of growth grows best where fertility , organic matters the Pacific community (SPC). Mikania causes a , moisture, humidity are all high. It is known by major menace in natural forests, agricultural different names in different parts of the world; systems specially tea , rubber and other plantation American rope, Chinese creeper and Mile-a-minute in crop in North East and Southwest India (Sankaran English ;Japani Habi in India; Chinesischer and Sreenivasan, 2001). Mikania debris Sommerefeu in German ; Liane americaine in French incorporated into soil was also shown to inhibit ; Ovaova in Fijian etc. It occurs in agricultural areas, germination and seedling growth in some crops. coastland, natural forests, shrubs lands, urban areas, According Pacific Island Ecosystem at Risk wetlands etc. Once established M. micrantha can (PIER) information much of the works on Mikania have a major impact on natural ecosystems, in has been carried out on its eradication and particular forest communities (Fig1b). This species biological control. Various Bio-control projects can smother native vegetation, eventually killing against this weed have been carried out since many plants including trees, decreasing 2002 by the National Agricultural Research biodiversity. A native of Central and South Institute (NARI) and Cocoa Research Institute. America, Maxico and West Indies it was Studies on Mikania has been shown to have introduced into India after the II World War to allelopathic properties i.e. releases chemicals that camouflage airfields and is one of the most can inhibit the growth of plants. Li-ying, Guang- widespread and problematic weeds in the Pacific Yan, Chen, Peng and Li- Flanglan (2007), while region. The seeds are dispersed by wind or in studied on energetic cost of Mikania micrantha leaves clothing or hair of animals. Vegetatively it observed that a variety of secondary metabolites like Invasive Species Mikania Micrantha An Environmental Threat, Its Control With Reference To Eri Silk Worm 7 International Journal of Advances in Science Engineering and Technology, ISSN: 2321-9009, Vol-5, Iss-3, Spl. Issue-2 Sep.-2017 http://iraj.in Phenolics, Flavonoids, Alkaloids and Terpens can be II. MATERIALS AND METHODS released by volatilization, lixiviation of aerial parts and decomposition of plant debris in the soil. The 2.1) Nutrient contents of Mikania micrantha. investigatory works of Singh and Benchamin (2002) The healthy leaves of Mikania micrantha were on various botanicals suggest that many secondary collected from in and around of Diphu town and after metabolites such as phenolics, Glycocides, Alkaloids, estimating the moisture contents using electronic Terpenoids, etc. that occur in plants exhibiting moisture analyzer (Startorius, model MA35) the leaf variation in quality as well as quantity operating as samples are shade dried for three days. The dried specific olfactory and gustatory stimuali. It is further samples were transferred to hot air oven at 70ºC until established that the weed plants such as Cassia tora, constant weight was obtained. The samples were Lantana camara, Clerodendron inermae, Tribulus ground into fine powder and preserved in butter paper terrestris, etc. release these metabolites and are being bags for chemical analysis according to the following tried to increase the silk and egg production in method. Mulberry silk worm Bombyx mori as well as Eri silk worm, Samia cynthia ricini Bois. At lower Total nitrogen was estimated by Microkjeldahl concentrations these secondary metabolites increase method. ; Crude protein was derived using the factor the larval and cocoon characters and thereby silk %N X 6.25;Total carbohydrate was estimated using yield in both eri and mulberry silkworm ( Mane and the method of Dubios et al., (1956); Crude fat was Patil, 2000). These metabolites have stimulatory determined from an oven dried sample using a effect on protein synthesis in the silk gland during Soxhlet extraction apparatus (AOAC, 1970); Ash was larval period , thus leading to the increased silk determined by the AOAC, 1970 method; output in Eri and Mulberry silkworm . The leaves of Phosphorous content was determined weed plant Mikania micrantha had been found to Spectrophotometrically using UV VIS have significant effect on qualititave parameters of eri Spectrophotometer 118; Iron content was determined silk worm, Samia ricini Donovan while feeding the by Spectrophotometrically using UV VIS Eri silk worm castor leaves fortified with its extracts Spectrophotometer 118; Calcium content was (Devi , M., 2010). Keeping all this in view the determined according to AOAC, 1970. present study has been undertaken to know the nutrient contents of the invasive splecies Mikania All the estimation was done on dry weight basis in micrantha and the effect of its feeding on quality triplicate and the mean was recorded and compared parameter (Denier, Tenacity, Elongations and with analyzed data of nutrient contents of castor Defective Cocoon percentage) of silk fibre of Eri leaves. Silkworm Samia ricini Donovan. 2.2) Silk Quality of Eri Silk worm Fresh disease free layings (dfls) of Eri silkworm were reared in the laboratory at temperature 22 ± 3 and 78 ± 4% RH. The egg incubation and rearing were undertaken as per the recommended method of Choudhury (1982 ). Four experimental treatments were developed with different food plants of Mikania micrantha and Ricinus communis ; Experimental tr-I- (Host plant Mikania micrantha); Experimental tr- II ( Host plant Ricinus communis from I to IV instar larvae. The V instar larvae fed with Ricinus communis and M. micrantha in Fig 1b. Mikania micrantha decreasing equal proportion) ; Experimental tr-III ( Host plant plant Ricinus communis from I to II instar larvae. III instar larvae fed with Mikania micrantha till maturity). Experimental tr-IV( Host plant Ricinus communis considered as control). The Physical characteristics of silk fibre such as Denier, Tenacity, Elongations and Defective cocoon percentage
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