Meet to weed out threat
- Parthenium on Kaziranga border worries experts
A STAFF REPORTER
Killer plant

Guwahati, Sept. 9: A threat worse than poachers’ bullets or floods is
looming large over Kaziranga National Park.

Parthenium, one of the 10 deadliest weeds in the world with its
origins in Mexico, has been detected on the boundaries of the game
reserve. Experts said the weed poses a threat to the flora and fauna
of the park, as it destroys the food chain.

Amrit Ranjan Saikia, chief functionary of the Association for
Socio-economic Assessment and Development, Northeast, an NGO dealing
with environment related issues, said it is time to wake up to the
threat posed to the region from parthenium.

The NGO has organised a seminar, sponsored by NF Railways, at Mariani
railway junction on Monday.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070910/asp/northeast/story_8295930.asp

Experts in the field will address the seminar.

“The seminar will appeal to the railways to take necessary steps to
check the spread of the weed in the region, as the railways are the
main carrier of parthenium pollen grains,” Saikia said.

A senior scientist at Assam Agricultural University said if the deadly
weed invades the national park, it would be the beginning of the end
of Kaziranga.

“The weed is already a menace in Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Morigaon
districts, which are close to Kaziranga. It is a matter of time before
the weed infests the national park,” said Jayanta Deka, principal
investigator, All India Coordinated Research Programme on Weed Control
and a senior scientist in the agronomy department of the university.

The director of the national park, Surendra Nath Buragohain, said the
park is safe from the weed at present. “But we are aware of the
threat,” he said.

Investigations reveal that seeds of the weed came to India along with
wheat imported in 1985.

“The weed has invaded the railway tracks between Lumding and Tinsukia
in Upper Assam,” Deka said.

He added that the weed also poses a threat to cattle, though there are
no reports of cattle deaths from any part of Assam so far.

“It is because grazing lands are still abundant in Assam that the
animals are not consuming the weed. But it is only a matter of time,”
he said.

Moreover, parthenium does not allow other plants to grow as soon as it
invades a certain area.The weed is toxic to cattle and the meat from
livestock that eat the weed could be harmful.

The milk of cattle, which consume the weed for a certain period of
time, turns blue.

Even humans suffer severe allergies after being exposed to the plant
or its pollen, which can cause dermatitis, hay fever and asthma.