Prosopis juliflora (mesquite)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.
- Preferred Common Name
- mesquite
- Other Scientific Names
- Acacia cumanensis (H. & B. ex. Willd.)
- Acacia juliflora (Sw.) Willd.
- Acacia salinarum (Vahl) DC.
- Algarobia juliflora (Sw.) Benth.
- Algarobia juliflora (Sw.) Benth. ex Heynh
- Algarobia juliflora (Sw.) Heynh
- Desmanthus salinarum (Vahl) Steud.
- Mimosa juliflora Sw.
- Mimosa piliflora Sw.
- Mimosa salinarum Vahl
- Neltuma bakeri Britton & Rose
- Neltuma juliflora (Sw.) Raf.
- Neltuma ocidentalis Britton & Rose
- Neltuma pallescens Britton & Rose
- Prosopis bracteolata DC.
- Prosopis cumanensis (H. & B. ex. Willd.) H.B.K.
- Prosopis cumanensis (Willd.) Kunth
- Prosopis dominguensis DC.
- Prosopis dulcis var. domingensis (DC.) Benth.
- Prosopis horrida Kunth
- Prosopis inermis H.B.K.
- Prosopis juliflora var. inermis (H.B.K.) Burkart
- Prosopis pallida forma annularis Ferreyra
- Prosopis vidaliana A. Naves
- Prosopis vidaliana Fern.Vill.
- International Common Names
- Englishalgaroba beanmesquiteMexican thornprosopis
- Spanishalgarobaalgarrobomesquitemesquitomezquite
- Frenchbayahonde
- Arabicuweif
- Local Common Names
- Brazilalgarobeiraalgarobiaalgaroboalgarroba
- Cape Verdeespinheirospinho
- Colombiaalgarroboalgarrobo forrageroanchipia guaivaaromacujícují negrocují yaquemanca-caballotrupitrupillo
- Costa Ricaarómo
- Cubaalgarrobo del Brasilalgarrobo exóticocambrónchachacaguatapanápluma de oro
- Curaçaocojí wawalúcuidaindjoeindjukuigiquiwawahi
- DjiboutiDat caxagaran-wa
- Dominican Republicbayahonbayahondabayahonda blancabayahondebohahundacambrónmezquitevallahonda
- Ecuadoralgarrobo
- El Salvadorcarbón
- French Polynesia/Marquesascarobier
- GermanyMesquitbaumMesquitebaum
- Guatemalacampechenacascolnacasolpalo de campeche
- Haitibaronbayahondebayahonde françaisebayaronebayawonbayawonnbayawonn françaisebayohonchambronguatapaná
- Hondurasalgarroboespino realespino ruco
- Indiaangrezi bavaliyabelari jaliganda babulganda-baboolgando bavalvilayati baboolvilayati babulvilayati khejravilayati kikar
- Iraqshouk shami
- Jamaicacashawcashew
- Kenyaeteraimathengeprosopis
- Maligaudi maaka
- Mexicoalgarrobacatzimecchachacamareñomezquite
- Middle Eastghaf
- Nicaraguaacacia de Catarinaaquijote negroespino negro
- Nigermugun kawashejain kawa
- Pakistanvilayati babulvilayati jandvilayati kikar
- Panamaaromomanca-caballo
- Perualgarrobohuarango
- Philippinesaroma
- Puerto RicoalgarrobaAlgarroba del Hawaiialgarrobo americanoaromaaroma americanabayahondecambrónmezquite
- Senegaldakkar toubab
- Somaliagaran-walebi
- Sudanmesquite
- Trinidad and Tobagomesquit-tree
- USA/Hawaiialgarobakiawemesquite
- Venezuelacaóbano gateadocujicují amarillocuji negrocují yaguecují yaquecujicaroramaíz criolloyaqueyaque blancoyaque negro
- EPPO code
- PRCJU (Prosopis juliflora)
- EPPO code
- PRSSJU (Prosopis juliflora)
Pictures
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); tree habit, with a stem diameter 1.5m. nr. Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
©Peter Felker
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); young, medium-sized tree, with typical branchy spreading form, growing in dry thorn scrub forest. Managua, Nicaragua.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); typical medium-sized tree, with branchy spreading form, growing in dry thorn scrub forest. Managua, Nicaragua.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); habit, as a dense coppiced stand. nr. Port-au-Prince, Haiti
©Peter Felker
Flowers
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); the minute cream-coloured flowers are arranged on long spikes, and are pollinated by a wide range of insects.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Pods
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); ripe, straw-coloured pods. The pods are indehiscent, and relished by livestock, accounting for widespread dispersal of seed across rangeland.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); coppiced for fuelwood, and thinned to a single resprout per stump. nr. Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
©Peter Felker
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); coppiced, and cultivated for fuelwood and sand dune stabilization, Rajasthan, India.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); weedy habit, invading pasture. Comayagua, Honduras.
©Colin Hughes, Dept. Plant Sciences, Univ. Oxford
Habit
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); habit, as a roadside painting. Karachi, Pakistan.
©Peter Felker
Seeds
Prosopis juliflora (mesquite); seeds. Note scale.
Public Domain - Released by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database/original image by Released by Steve Hurst - CC0
Plantation
P. julifora plantation in central Senegal.
N.M. Pasiecznik
Habit
P. juliflora along a field boundary in central Senegal.
N.M. Pasiecznik
Sapling
Self-sown P. juliflora, naturalizing in northern Senegal.
N.M. Pasiecznik
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Poaceae (grasses) | Main |
Prevention and Control
Control
The following section on control methods is summarised from Pasiecznik et al. (2001) and comprises control methods that have been attempted on several closely related Prosopis species including P. juliflora. It is thought that most, if not all, control methods suitable for one species can be successfully applied to another. However, methods of eradication attempted for over half a century in the Americas have proved very expensive and largely unsuccessful in the long term. Total tree kill may be possible with some treatments, but adequate techniques for preventing the re-introduction of seeds and re-establishment of trees have yet to be developed. The potential environmental damage from the widespread use of herbicides must also be taken into consideration. It is now accepted that eradication is not possible using these techniques and, at best, only some form of control is feasible. Mixed mechanical and chemical methods have often proved more effective than either alone. Several integrated programmes that mix mechanical and chemical methods and fire have had reasonable success but are costly and require a high level of management input.
Cultural Control
Hand clearance is the first method used to deal with Prosopis as a weed. Work teams are sent into invaded pasture to fell the trees and uproot all stumps. Although very effective, the operation is labour-intensive and hand clearing remains practical only for small land holdings of high value, such as for agriculture or where labour is relatively cheap. Hand clearing can also be used in conjunction with some mechanical or chemical methods, such as chemical stump treatment. In Pakistan, hand grubbing was cheaper than chemical stump treatment (Khan, 1961). Grubbing is more cost effective in lighter infestations.
Fire, probably one of the original management tools used in American grasslands, has undergone limited assessment for controlling Prosopis. Young seedlings are sensitive to fire but older trees become increasingly protected by thick bark as they mature and will resprout rapidly after fire. However, fire can be used successfully as a management tool for preventing re-establishment of young Prosopis seedlings while also improving forage production. Fire has been used in conjunction with other methods in the development of integrated eradication programmes. For example, spraying with herbicides produces dead wood that will ignite and support a sustained fire with more likelihood of killing the remaining trees. New integrated systems are being assessed in Australia.
Studies on succession suggest the possibility of 'ecological control', by leaving succession to take its natural course. The invasion of Prosopis species into rangeland has been observed and studied for over a century in the USA (e.g. Archer, 1995) and for long periods in South America (e.g. D'Antoni and Solbrig, 1977) and India (e.g. Chinnimani, 1998). Long-term ecological observations and the use of models have indicated that dense thickets associated with the problems of invasion are only a temporary stage in the process of succession. The initial stages of invasion involve the introduction of small numbers of Prosopis trees, which eventually produce seed and act as centres of dissemination (Archer, 1995). Prosopis stand density increases if land-use systems allow the establishment of seedlings, leading to the formation of dense thickets where conditions allow. Chinnimani (1998) showed that Prosopis density eventually declines as other species become established and, if left to take a natural course, a new vegetation complex will occur with Prosopis as only a minor component. Felker et al. (1990) observed that self-thinning occurred in stands of P. glandulosa over time. The dense thickets identified as weedy invasions in many countries may only be indicative of the stage of invasion and, if left alone, ecological control may reduce Prosopis numbers.
Than (2011) reported that P. juliflora appeared to struggle to compete with the climber Combretum roxburghii [C. album] and the shrub Azima sarmentosa.
Mechanical Control
Mechanical site clearance involves tractor operations developed for removing trees, in which the roots are severed below ground level to ensure the tree is killed. These operations include root ploughing and chaining, which are often the most effective mechanical means, using a mouldboard plough pulled behind a Caterpillar tractor or a heavy chain pulled between two machines. For root ploughing, large trees must first be felled by hand, but this treatment has been used to remove stumps up to 50 cm in diameter without difficulty and has a treatment life of 20 years or more (Jacoby and Ansley, 1991). Other advantages are that only a single pass is required, and whole site cultivation is effected leading to improved soil water conservation, and there is a chance to reseed with improved forage species. However, this method is one of the most expensive control treatments and is recommended only on deep soils that have a high potential for subsequent increased forage production (Jacoby and Ansley, 1991).
The soil should be neither too wet nor too dry for effective root ploughing. Chaining involves pulling a heavy chain between two slow-moving Caterpillar tractors, with the effect of pulling over larger trees and uprooting them. A second pass in the opposite direction ensures that roots on all sides are severed to ease tree removal (Jacoby and Ansley, 1991). Soil moisture is again important, with soil that is dry on the surface and moist below giving the optimal conditions. If the soil is too dry, the stem breaks leading to coppicing, if too wet, the soil and understorey are damaged (Jacoby and Ansley, 1991). Smaller, unbroken trees have to be removed by other means. Although expensive, this treatment is effective where there are many mature trees. It is most widely used following herbicide application to remove dead standing trees. Clearance with a biomass harvester produces wood chips that can be sold for energy production offsetting the operational costs (e.g. Felker et al., 1999).
Biological Control
Several biological control programmes using species of seed-feeding bruchid beetles have been developed and implemented. The advantage with bruchids is their observed host specificity, with many species found to feed only on Prosopis, and some only on a single species. Other insect species known to have a deleterious effect on native and exotic Prosopis in the Americas, mainly twig girdlers and psyllids, have also been suggested as possible biological control agents. The twig girdler Oncideres limpida attacks P. pallida in Brazil (Lima, 1994), whereas Oncideres rhodostricta is seen as a serious pest of P. glandulosa in the USA (Polk and Ueckert, 1973). Psyllids are known to severely affect the growth of Prosopis (Hodkinson, 1991) and have been suggested for use in controlling invasions.
Most work on biological control of Prosopis to date has been carried out in South Africa, where several programmes are underway. The seed-feeding insects Mimosetes protractus and Neltumius arizonensis were introduced to eastern South Africa in conjunction with the bruchid beetles Algarobius prosopis and A. bottimeri for the control of invasive Prosopis species. N. arizonensis and A. prosopis were successful in establishing themselves in large numbers and having a significant effect on Prosopis spp., whereas the other species were only found in low numbers (Hoffmann et al., 1993). Maximum damage to seed occurred where grazing was controlled, as the multiplication and progress is hampered by livestock devouring pods before the insects destroy them.
The same two bruchid species were also introduced to Ascension Island in an attempt to control P. juliflora which is present on 80% of the island, often in dense thickets. Two other species, one a psyllid and the other a mirid, were identified as attacking P. juliflora on Ascension Island and were thought to have been introduced accidentally from the Caribbean. The mirid Rhinocloa sp. causes widespread damage and is thought to lead to substantial mortality of trees (Fowler, 1998). In Australia, Prosopis infestations are at a relatively early stage and extreme care is being employed in the selection of suitable biological control agents, following the long history of problems caused there by plant and animal introductions. Insect species continue to be tested for their efficacy and host specificity as possible biological control agents of Prosopis species in Australia (e.g. van Klinken, 1999; van Klinken et al., 2009). Besides the two Algarobius species, the sap-sucking psyllid Prosopidosylla flava and the leaf-tying moth, Evippe sp. have both been found to provide some control in Australia.
Prosopis species continue to spread widely in parts of their native ranges where many insect species including bruchids, twig girdlers, psyllids and other injurious pests are common components of the ecology. These regularly attack Prosopis but the trees have adapted to infestation by these pests and are still able to become invasive weeds over large tracts of land. Although there has been some success in the control of exotic Prosopis following the introduction of bruchid beetles and other insects, it appears that biological control alone may be insufficient. Also, increased utilisation of the pods as a food and/or fodder means that seed-feeding biological control agents are less likely to be acceptable. This was seen recently in Kenya, where A. prosopis had been cleared for release, but this was put on hold at the last minute (May 2006) for two years, awaiting the results of a new task force that continues to promote links between rural communities and livestock feed manufacturers (N. Pasiecznik, personal communication, 2006).
However, where identified as an invasive species in dry zone in northern Myanmar (e.g. Aung and Koike, 2015), there has been at least an initial focus on biological control agents for this forest invasive species (Than, 2011), with investigation for biological control agents conducted in Pyawbwe in January 2010. Damage was detected in the form of yellowing foliage and damage from pathogens around cuts during fuelwood harvesting, identified as Fusarium sp., Tubercularia sp. and Nectria sp., and small-scale trials have been initiated to examine the potential for these fungal pathogens to aid in biological control of P. juliflora.
Chemical Control
Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:
•
EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
•
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
•
Your national pesticide guide
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Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 4 October 2022
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