Université de Fribourg

In-season leaf damage by a biocontrol agent explains reproductive output of an invasive plant species

Augustinus, Benno A. ; Lommen, Suzanne T.E. ; Fogliatto, Silvia ; Vidotto, Francesco ; Smith, Tessa ; Horvath, David ; Bonini, Maira ; Gentili, Rodolfo F. ; Citterio, Sandra ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Schaffner, Urs

In: NeoBiota, 2020, vol. 55, p. 117–146

One of the biggest challenges in classical biological control of invasive weeds is predicting the likelihood of success. Ambrosia artemisiifolia, a North American plant species that has become invasive in Europe, causes economic losses due to health problems resulting from its huge amount of highly allergenic pollen and as a weed to agricultural crops resulting from high seed densities. Here...