Research On Uganda's New Water Weed

Egypt has offered to research on the control and elimination of giant salvinia molesta, a new water weed, described by experts as worse than the water hyacinth.

 

According to Agriculture minister Tress Bucyanayandi, the fast-growing aquatic, which has massively spread on Lake Albert and Lake Kyoga are characterised by forming dense mats, brown, yellow or green in colour that affect fish and fishermen.

"Egypt has promised to pick samples of the weed and research more on it. This is a commendable move and I take this opportunity to applaud the Egyptian government. This weed is more complicated than the water hyacinth because it reduces oxygen to fish, makes it difficult to fish and our machines to harvest it because it is smaller," he said.

Speaking after meeting the Egypt Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Prof Hossam Moghazy, at his office in Entebbe at the weekend, Mr Buchanayandi said the new weed poses a big threat to our fish sector.

Uganda earned $136.2m (Shs476b) as of December 14, 2015, according to Wikipedia, a free content encyclopedia from fish exports while coffee fetched $466.6m (Shs1.6 trillion) and tea $72.1m (Shs252b).

About the weed

The weed referred to by locals as Nankabirwa, due to the absence of a native name, is ranked by the International Conservation Union (IUCN) among the worst 100 invasive weeds in the world.

The importation of Salvinia has been outlawed in many developed countries because of its devastating ecological and economic effect. The weed was added to the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) Alert List in 2007 and transferred to the List of Invasive Alien Plants in 2012 (EPPO 2012).

Research indicates that this aquatic fern, thrives in slow-moving, nutrient-rich, warm, freshwater. It grows very rapidly, outcompeting most aquatic plants and is dispersed long distances within water bodies via water currents and between water bodies through animals and contaminated equipment, boats or vehicles.

Read more detail at original news source: Allafrica.com