Turkish scientists discover invasive foreign plant species in the Mediterranean Region

Turkish academics have discovered a foreign plant species, recognized globally as invasive, during their work in banana cultivation areas in the Mediterranean Region.

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Turkish scientists discover invasive foreign plant species in the Mediterranean Region

According to a statement from Düzce University (DÜ), Dr. Hilmi Torun and Dr. Mine Özkil, researchers at the Adana Biological Control Research Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies, along with DÜ Faculty of Forestry faculty member Prof. Dr. Necmi Aksoy, Hatay University Faculty of Agriculture faculty member Prof. Dr. İlhan Üremiş, and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Agriculture faculty member Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ, conducted studies in areas within the Mediterranean Region as part of a project related to bananas.

During the studies, they encountered a foreign plant species that is accepted as an invasive species worldwide and is a new record for the country's flora.

In interviews with producers, it was learned that this species has been widespread in closed banana production greenhouses in the Mediterranean Region for a long time, but that banana producers have been able to easily combat this plant species.

AN INVASIVE SPECIES

Following the sighting of this species, samples collected for identification were sent to DÜ Faculty of Forestry Herbarium (DUOF) Curator Prof. Dr. Necmi Aksoy.

As a result of the identification studies, it was determined that the species in question is "Cardamine occulta Hornem" (Brassicaceae, Asian bittercress), which is native to the Asian continent and has no previous record in the Turkish flora.

According to these samples, which were recorded in the DUOF Herbarium, the description and morphological characteristics of the plant were photographed. Hatay University Faculty of Agriculture faculty member Prof. Dr. İlhan Üremiş and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Agriculture faculty member Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ evaluated the plant's damages as a weed in banana greenhouses and its ecological characteristics in line with morphological and ecological observations.

It was revealed that the foreign plant species is a new invasive species for the Turkish flora.

News Source: AA