INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER HYACINTH (Eichhornia Crassipes)

Water hyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms] is a noxious aquatic weed. In India,it has infested more than 200,000 ha of water surface. During the course of present investigation it was proposed to make an extensive, planned and systematic survey of fungal pathogens that destroy the water hyacinth from the ponds of M.P. The study was undertaken to evaluate the compatibility of two or more fungi for integrated management of water hyacinth. Results clearly indicate that except Alternaria eichhorniae all the pathogens are compatible to each other. In vivo the lesion diameters were greater on water hyacinth leaves when combination of pathogens were used than individual pathogens. The Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata and Fusarium pallidoroseum combination resulted in maximum disease development followed by A. alternata with C. lunata, A. alternata with F. pallidoroseum and C. lunata with F. pallidoroseum. Thus, it can be concluded that better management of the weed can be achieved by using combination of pathogens.