Hydrobiologia 340: 181-185,1996.

181
J. M. Caffrey, P. R. F. Barrett, K. J. Murphy & P. M. Wade (eds), Management and Ecology of Freshwater Plants.
© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Strategies for waterhyacinth (Eiehhornia eras sipes ) control in Mexico

Eric Gutierrez, Ruben Huerta, Pilar Saldana & Felipe Arreguin

Hydrobiology Laboratory, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnolog[a del Agua, Apdo. P 235, c/VAC, Morelos,
Mexico 62500

Key words: Eichhornia crassipes, control, management, maintenance control.

Abstract

In Mexico, more than 40000 ha of dams, lakes, canals and drains are infested with waterhyacinth (Eichhornia
crassipes). To prevail over the problems resulting from this infestation, specific management programs are needed.
Under a national program to control the waterhyacinth, guidelines to deal with the related ecological, social,
technical and economic factors, and specific strategies to reduce coverage were developed. The ecological factors
which were noted include the identification of the most affected areas and the consequences of proposed treatments.
The social aspects embraced the stimulation of user awareness as to the importance of water quality, the creation
of organizations to coordinate user-sponsored control activities, and the awakening of a community identity. Basic
to all are the technical and economic aspects which make the activities feasible and operational. Examples are
given of control by means of water level management, mechanical controls using trituration, and the application of
chemical and biological agents, all of which may be combined in an integral program.

Introduction 40000 ha are covered with waterhyacinth. To over-

Waterhyacinth (Eichhornia erassipes (Mart.) Solms)
is successful owing to its life cycle and survival strate-
gies which have given it a competitive edge over oth-
er species. Its capacity for vegetative reproduction
allows the plant to quickly occupy any available space.
Regrowth from relatively small plant fragments, floata-
bility and the production of viable seeds are efficient
mechanisms for the dispersion and colonization of oth-
er areas, especially when combined with a minimum of
growth-limiting factors, resistance to drying, morpho-
logical variety, root-ability, lack of natural enemies and
adaptability to little-competed ecological conditions
make eradication of this plant virtually impossible and
control extremely difficult (Perazza et aI., 1979; Nino
& Lot, 1983; Gopal, 1987; Luu & Getsinger, 1988).
The basic units of a management program are the
complex variables related to plant growth and the rela-
tionships among them. The tactics and strategies will
combine these units with greater or lesser efficiency.
In Mexico, more than 62000 ha of dams, lakes, canals
and drains are infested with water weeds. Of this total,
come the problems resulting from this infestation, spe-
cific management programs are needed to reclaim these
bodies of water. Although many variables and factors
interact under these conditions, the Mexican Institute
of Water Technology (IMTA) has worked to single out
those which may be built into strategies that are both
technically and economically feasible.
The Aquatic Weed Control Program (AWCP) was
created in 1993 to combat the excessive presence of
weeds in the nation's water courses. The objectives of
this work are to present the main characteristics of the
AWCP, and describe the control program implemented
in the Ayutla River watershed as an initial stage of a
larger national program.
Study area
The Ayutla River watershed comprises three dams in
series, the Miraplanes, Tacotan and Trigomil (Figure
1). The mean annual temperature in the area is 20.9 °C
182

of crops surrounding the dam, weather conditions and

M u plw",~OQm possible control strategies were identified. The weed
coverage was quantified by means of satellite images
from LANDSAT TM, The resolution of these images
was 25 m x 25 m per pixel (0.0625 ha).

Participation and communications. Meetings were

convened with users to provide them with information
r cOldn concerning the proposed control strategy, establish user
O'lm
commitments, organize and define responsibilities for
the short, medium and long term. Informative exhibi-
tions were prepared to offer updates, and later training,
lit ()fnrl to the users.
Dam

Economic feasibility study. Unit costs for labor,

LI Grullu material, infrastructure and administration were calcu-
Irrroo\1OO
DI~lricl •
lated, as were costs for the monitoring and follow-up
programs after the control efforts had ended.

Figure 1. Water Hyacinth infested areas in the Ayutla watershed Control. The control strategy was developed, based
on the characteristics of each dam, the assigned bud-
Table 1. Characteristics of darns in the Ayutla Watershed get, and the most appropriate control techniques avail-
DAM MIRA PLANES TACOTAN TRIGOMIL
able domestically. These latter included herbicidal,
Use Irrigation Irrigation, Irrigation, mechanical and biological procedures, and water lev-
fishing fishing el management (Table 2). Chemicals employed in
control schemes have been mainly 2,4-D, diquat and
Volume (Mm3 ) 0.73 149 324 glyphosate. The most commonly used mechanical
Area (hal 73 500 393 method is a triturator placed on a raft with blades oper-
Mean depth (m) 1 20--30 60--80
ating at 2000 rpm up to 30 cm below the water sur-
Max. depth (m) 2 40 100
face. The waterhyacinth weevil, Neochetina eichhor-
Weed present wrr W W
niae, has been observed in the three basins. This insect
Infested (ha) 73 204.8 211.4
was introduced to Mexico toward the end of the seven-
Uninfested (ha) 0 257.5 181.8
Total surface (ha) 73 462.3 393.2
ties in an effort to establish a biological control (Ben-
net, 1984). During this phase, operations began. This
Satellite image (January 10, 1993). W = Waterhyacinth. T = Typha included the programming of equipment and materials,
supervision of tasks and quantification of the decrease
in biomass.
with an average annual rainfall of 806.5 mm. Table 1
provides other related information. Environmental monitoring. The elimination of
aquatic weeds by anyone of the means customarily
used, modifies the preexisting conditions. In Gutierrez
Control program et al. (1994) a water quality monitoring program is
described in which analyses were made prior and sub-
The AWCP contemplates six phases. sequent to executing the control program. Studies were
made of changes in the planktonic and benthonic com-
Initial evaluation. The area was observed to eval- munities in the affluent and effluent of the dam, and
uate the infestation and identify the users who are of herbicidal residues in water, sediment and tissues of
directly affected and would be interested in commit- edible fish species.
ting themselves to the maintenance phase of the pro-
gram in conjunction with government authorities, The Maintenance. Tactics were developed wherein
water uses, aquatic communities, location and types users and authorities were firmly committed to main-