TITLE:
Distribution and Abundance of Parthenium hysterophorus L. in Metekel Zone, Northwest Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Jemal Tola Horo, Tesfaye Gudisa, Emebet Worku, Derese Tilahun
KEYWORDS:
Parthenium hysterophorus L., Invasive Weed, Weed Control, Agricultural Fields, Arable Lands, Grazing Lands, Metekel Zone
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
20,
2020
ABSTRACT: Parthenium
hysterophorus L. is a harmful invasive weed to plant biodiversity
and human health. It is native to American tropics and first introduced to Ethiopia
in the 1970s. Today, it is widely distributed across the country and severely
affecting the biodiversity, crop, and animal production in the country. In the
Metekel Zone, there was no report on its distribution and impacts so far.
Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the distribution and abundance of the
plant in the zone. The distribution and abundance data of the weed were recorded
at five km intervals following all accessible roads of the zone. The result
reveals that P. hysterophorus L. was
less distributed in the area with a 4.95% frequency. However, it was found
abundantly growing at roadsides, wastelands, around habitation, market place,
and around Zeghibridge where it can rapidly spread to most economical lands
like the arable and grazing lands. Moreover, it has aggressively invaded a
nursery site, which enables the weed to enter agricultural fields directly.
This suggests that the weed is on a fast move to agricultural lands in the
zone. The regular active development activities such as agricultural
investment, construction of roads, and factories are presumed to promote its
spread. Therefore, a decisive and timely decision is needed to mitigate the
weed when it is still sparse and small.