Acetylation of Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden as a local control method to prevent its expansion

Abstract

The article proposes the way to control aggressive invasive plant Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. This method excludes contact of the plant dangerous sap with human skin, and based on injecting of 6% apple vinegar in optimal volumes into the stems of the plant before its fructification. Injection of apple vinegar into the hollow part of the stems causes complete necrosis of the aerial part of the plant within 48 hours. At the same time, aceylation is an exclusively selective process characteristic for Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden only. This reaction does not have the negative environmental effects observed when using glyphosate, imidazolinine, sulfonylurea, and other herbicides. The article confirms the exceptional selectivity of injections on Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. According to the research, the injections of 6% apple vinegar do not affect on the hollow stems of Sónchus oleráceus. Indeed, the injections of water into the stems of both types of plants under study do not cause the death of their aerial parts. Moreover, the high-performance liquid chromatography of stems after injections with 6% apple vinegar shows an induced increase in the content of furanocoumarins in 48 hours as a response to an irritant dangerous to the plant. Moreover, the content of xanthotoxin increased by 1.7 times.