The invasive white ginger lily (Hedichium coronarium - J. Köenig, 1783) simplifies the trait composition of an insect assemblage in the littoral zone of a Savanna reservoir. Invasive plants are believed to shift the trait composition of aquatic insects dwelling in banks of lentic ecosystems. In...

The success of an invasive plant depends on its competitive advantage in the new community. This advantage can be attributed to high phenotypic plasticity, which either allows the plant to develop under a broad variety of environmental conditions, or grants it with a higher fitness compared to...

In studies undertaken during 2014 and 2015 on diseases of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum), symptoms such as stem lodging, inflorescence and capsule rot were observed in the ICAR farm in Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim, India. The yield reduction varied from 30 to 70% in the infected plants. The symptoms...

The nutritional quality of leaf litter can influence shredder chironomid larvae activities and affect leaf litter decomposition in tropical streams. The invasion of riparian areas by exotic plants may alter the nutritional quality of allochthonous material in streams, which would influence litter...

Plant invasions in tropical agricultural landscapes have been poorly studied so far. Here, we use plot data collected in 2015 in the La Gamba valley in southern Costa Rica to analyse the spread of two invasive alien species (Hydrilla verticillata, Hedychium coronarium) on the landscape level. In...

Invasive glossy buckthorn could reduce restoration potential for understory native forest herbs by compromising their growth and biodiversity. Few studies of glossy buckthorn's effects on forest herbs exist, and none were done in early-successional, partially open hardwood forests. This study was...

This paper describes 9 taxa of vascular plants not previously recorded as naturalized on Madeira Island, Portugal: Malephora crocea, Opuntia stricta, Crassula muscosa, Euphorbia maculata, Chamaesyce serpens [Euphorbia serpens], Clematis vitalba, Aloe ciliaris, Melinis repens and Hedychium...

Cardamom thrips (Sciothrips cardamomi Ramk.) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) cause serious economic loss to cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton (Zingiberaceae). A fungus was isolated from cadavers of cardamom thrips collected during a survey in cardamom plantations of Wayanad District, Kerala,...

During the survey conducted for the documentation of root mealybugs in black pepper from August 2013 to July 2014 in pepper gardens of Wayanad and Idukki districts of Kerala (India), ginger grown as mixed crop was found to be infested by the mealybug, Formicococcus polysperes. The colonies...

Essential oils have the potential to be used as bioherbicides, and possess the advantage of their biodegradability, high structural diversity and reduced natural resistance to weeds. The essential oils of the leaves and rhizomes of Hedychium coronarium, an exotic invasive plant adapted to different ...