Trianthema portulacastrum in the Hula Valley in Israel
Trianthema portulacastrum (Aizoaceae – EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants) has a wide native range including the Americas, Asia and Africa. In the EPPO region it is established in Israel and Jordan where it occurs in ruderal habitats, roadsides, lakes, riverbanks, coastal areas and agricultural habitats. In Israel, T. portulacastrum occurs in the region south of Lake Kinneret, in the central coastal plain and in the in the Hefer Valley. It has spread in the Hula Valley and is now an invasive alien species of increasing importance in agricultural fields. Between 2019 and 2022, a field survey was conducted to assess the locations and habitats where T. portulacastrum is present in the Hula Valley. In total, 16 sites infested with T. portulacastrum were identified. It was recorded as widespread in field and vegetable crops and there were heavy infestations of field boundaries, banks of waterways, and other moist areas. In the Hula Valley, T. portulacastrum starts to emerge in early April and flowers 3–4 weeks later. It can produced seeds throughout the summer until late autumn. Experiments conducted under controlled conditions showed that T. portulacastrum emergence rate decreases with depth with seed buried at 6 cm showing no emergence. Seed germination rates were shown to decrease with decreasing temperature. Germination was optimal at a regime of 12 h night/day of 25/35 oC.
Sources
Goldwasser Y, Rabinowitz O, Achdary G, Kapiluto O, Abu-Nasser J, Smirnov E, Eizenberg H (2024) The invasive weed Trianthema portulacastrum in Israel. Plants 13, 518. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13040518