17/05/2021 Eichornia crassipes

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Eichornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms

Pontederiaceae
Waterhyacinth

Source: James A. Duke. 1983. Handbook of Energy Crops. unpublished.

1. Uses
2. Folk Medicine
3. Chemistry
4. Toxicity
5. Description
6. Germplasm
7. Distribution
8. Ecology
9. Cultivation
10. Harvesting
11. Yields and Economics
12. Energy
13. Biotic Factors
14. References

Uses
An NAS report (1976) explores the potential conversion of water weeds to fertilizer, food, fuel, paper, fiber,
and energy. Subsistence farmers in Bangladesh face disaster when rafts of water hyacinth weighing up to 300
MT/ha float over their rice paddies. As the floods recede, the weeds remain on the germinating rice, thus
killing it. Bengalis have learned to use the enemy for fuel and fertilizer. Engineers have estimated that the
Panama Canal would be impassable within three years without continuous aquatic weed control measures.
Aquatic weeds may require absorbent materials such as dried industrial mill by-products to ferment good
silage. In Florida, dried citrus pulp and molasses have been added to water hyacinth residues as sources of
carbohydrate and absorbent. Byproducts of the rice, grain, and sugarcane milling industries and waste
cassava are potential substitutes. Edible water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) already occurs intermingled with
water hyacinth in Panama (Curtis and Duke, 1982). Through an anaerobic fermentation process, polluted
hyacinths can be converted to the natural gas methane--a costly process that may become more economical
as supplies of underground natural gas are depleted. Dried and cleansed plants, can be used as fertilizer,
poultry feed, additives to cattle-feed, and plant mulch. Eventually, living aquatic plants might serve aboard
long-distance manned spacecraft, absorbing wastes and converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, then being
themselves converted into food. "I fully intend to solve a major pollution problem, a major energy problem, a
major food problem, and a major fertilizer problem," declares Wolverton (as quoted in BioScience Vol. 26,
No. 3, March 1976). And lowly water hyacinths have given him a head start. Wolverton and McDonald
(1981) note "cultivation of higher plants for use in wastewater treatment, and incorporation of these plants
into a system where the biomass is harvested for fuel production is economically appealing at the present
time. Since this biomass is a by-product of wastewater treatment, it has a positive environmental impact, and
thus poses no threat as competitor to food, feed, or fiber-producing plants." The plant has been used for cigar
wrappers and, as a mushroom growing medium (Holm et al., 1977) but seems unsatisfactory for paper and
pulp. Said to be used as a carotene-rich table vegetable in Formosa. Javanese sometimes cook and eat the
green parts and inflorescence. In Africa, fresh plants are used as cushions in canoes and to plug holes in
charcoal sacks. Chinese cultivate the water hyacinth in fish ponds as pig fodder, the pig manure recycled into
the fish pond. Fish taken from the manured pond are transferred to clean tanks and fed more wholesome food
before human consumption. In India, where yields of 150 MT fodder/ha/yr are reported, the water hyacinth is
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fed to water buffalos (ca 7 kg/day fresh fodder) which are said to exhibit 10-15% milk increases (but the
milk is more watery).

Folk Medicine
It is strange to me that this pantropical weed has acquired such a small medicinal folklore. In Kedah (Java),
the flowers are used for medicating the skin of horses. Duke and Wain (1981) report only that the species is
"tonic."

Chemistry
Fresh plant contains 95.5% moisture, 0.04% N, 1.0% ash, 0.06% P2O5, 0.20% K2O, 3.5% organic matter. On
a zero-moisture basis, it is 75.8% organic matter, 1.5% N, and 24.2% ash. The ash contains 28.7% K2O,
1.8% Na2O, 12.8% CaO, 21.0% Cl, and 7.0% P2O5. The CP contains, per 100 g, 0.72 g methionine, 4.72 g
phenylalanine, 4.32 g threonine, 5.34 g lysine, 4.32 g isoleucine, 0.27 g valine, and 7.2 g leucine (Matai and
Bagchi, 1980). Water hyacinth roots naturally absorb pollutants, including such toxic chemicals as lead,
mercury, and strontium 90 (as well as some organic compounds believed to be carcinogenic) in
concentrations 10,000 times that in the surrounding water (BioScience 26(3): 224. 1976). Nutritive values
are tabulated by Gohl (1981) in the following table:

As % of dry matter
DM CP CF Ash EE NFE Ca P
Fresh, green part, India 5.9 13.1 18.2 15.3 1.3 52.1 2.16 0.41
Fresh, green part, Philippines 7.8 12.8 24.6 11.9 3.3 47.4
Hay, India 11.6 24.2 17.8 0.7 45.7 2.19 0.64
Silage, Philippines 10.1 9.9 19.7 19.0 1.5 49.9
Haylage, India 33.5 11.4 24.5 20.1 1.4 42.6 2.02 0.23
Haylage with 2% salt, India 46.8 13.9 17.4 18.9 1.5 48.3 1.70 0.21
Dried root, Sudan 92.7 5.8 20.5 3.7 0.9 69.1
Digestibility (%)
Animal CP CF EE NFE ME
Hay Zebu 37.9 62.1 53.4 60.4 1.76
Silage Sheep 56.1 57.1 76.2 78.5 2.15

Toxicity
Eating the plant, reported to contain HCN, alkaloid, and triterpenoid, may induce itching (Perry, 1980). Fresh
plants contain prickly crystals. Plants sprayed with 2,4-D may accumulate lethal doses of nitrates (Gohl,
1981).

Description
Perennial aquatic herb; rhizome and stems normally floating,rooting at the nodes, with long black pendant
roots. Leaves usually with inflated spongy petioles, the leaf blades circular to reniform, 4-12 cm wide.
Inflorescence a contracted panicle, 4-15 cm long, with several flowers; perianth lilac, bluish- purple, or
white, the upper lobe bearing a violet blotch with a yellow center. Stamens 6; stalk of the inflorescence soon
becoming goose-necked, forcing the dead flowers under the water; capsule dehiscent, surrounded by the
perianth, membraneous, many-seeded (Reed, 1970). (Ag. Handbook 366)

Germplasm
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Reported from the South American Center Of Diversity, waterhyacinth, or cvs thereof, is reported to tolerate
grazing and waterlogging. (2n = 32)

Distribution
Native to Brazil, now growing in most tropical and subtropical countries. Holm et al (1979) list more than 50
countries in which waterhyacinth is weed.

Ecology
Estimated to range from Tropical Desert to Rain through Subtropical or Warm Temperate Desert to Rain
Forest Life Zones, waterhyacinth is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 8.2 to 27.0 dm (mean of 8
cases = 15.8), annual temperature of 21.1 to 27.2°C (mean of 5 cases = 24.9), and estimated pH of 5.0 to 7.5.
Leaves are killed by frost, and plants cannot tolerate water temperatures >34°C.

Cultivation
Apparently harvesting is more critical than cultivation. Seeds can tolerate submersion or desication for 15
years and still germinate. Scarification, but not light, may be required for germination. Recently there has
been interest in cultivating waterhyacinths for waste water treatment.

Harvesting
Rafts of waterhyacinth have been harvested manually, with specially equipped dredges, rakes, and have been
mechanically piled by crushers, elevators, grapplers, rollers, sawboats, etc. Rafts have even been towed to
sea; where the salt water kills it. Wilted water hyacinth, mixed with earth, cow dung, and woodashes in the
Chinese compost fashion, can yield compost in two months.

Yields and Economics

Although yields are incredible, so are the costs of removal or attempted eradication of this water weed.
Standing crops have been estimated to produce 100-120 MT/ha/yr. Under ideal conditions, each plant can
produce 248 offspring in 90 days (Matai and Bagchi, 1980). Murry and Benemann (1981) compare various
standing crops of waterhyacinth, rounded off to 13-15 MT/ha in Louisiana, 6-21 in Alabama, 30 in Iowa, 11
in Mississippi. Perhaps more meaningful were their productivity figures, ca 13-15 in Louisiana, 5-28 in
Alabama, 4-29 in Iowa, 5-54 in Florida, up to 88 in Mississippi on sewage effluent. In Florida, an upper limit
on the value was set at $6.42 per wet ton, when used in a compost blend. Mara (1976) doubted that the value
of the waterhyacinth would cover the cost of transporting and spreading as a soil amendment. Further, if all
the cattle in Florida were fed year round, that would require <3% of the hyacinth.

Energy
According to the phytomass files (Duke, 1981), annual productivity ranges from 15-30 MT/ha. Holm et al
(1977) suggest that a floating mat of medium sized plants may contain 2,000,000 plants/ha weighing 270-
400 MT wet (15-20 MT DM). Benemann (1981) concludes, however, that in Southern US, productivity
should be 80 MT/ha DM compared to 40-60 for green algae and marsh plants. Comparing DM yields of
more than 20 genera representing many life forms in Florida, Smith and Dowd (1981) gave the highest
figure, 88 MT/ha/yr to waterhyacinth, followed by Hydrocotyle at 58, napier grass at 57, and sugarcane at
54. While not exactly representing head-on trials, the following Table, synthesized from several produced by
Smith and Dowd (1981) suggests that waterhyacinth is more productive of biomass than other items
tabulated.

DM
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MT/ha/yr
Azolla 10
Beta 4.4-11.7
Brassica 3-10
Casuarina equisetifolia 8.3
Cichorium intybus 5.5-7.9
Colocasi esculenta 9-19
Cynodon dactylon 23.5-24.6
Daucus carota 2.5-5.5
Eichornia crassipes 30-88
Elodea 3
Eucalyptus 5.6-20
Helianthus tuberosus 2.2-9.5
Hydrilia 15
Hydrocotyle umbellata 20-58
Ipomoea batatas 7-23
Lemna 12
Manihot esculenta 2-17
Melaleuca quinquenervia 28.5
Paspalum notatum 22.4
Pennisetum sp. (Napier) 57.3
Pinus clausa 9.0
Pinus elliottii 9.4
Saccharum 32-54
Sorghum 16-37
Sorghum 'Sordan' 22.4
Typha sp. 20-40
Once harvested and dried, the dry matter of the water hyacinth is roughly equivalent to the dry matter of our
other species in terms of energy. Some might argue that the hydrocarbon plants have a higher energy value
than a cellulosic plant per unit dry matter. But for our purposes, we can generally assume that 1 metric ton
dry matter is approximately equivalent to 2.4 bbls of oil. Although estimates will vary in any given study,
NAS (1976) suggests that one ha of water hyacinth can produce more than 70,000 m3 of biogas (70%
methane, 30% CO2). Each kg of dry matter will yield 370 liters biogas with a heating value of 22,000 KJ/m3
(580 Btu/ft3) compared to pure methane (895 Btu/ft3) (Curtis and Duke, 1982). Wolverton and McDonald
report only 0.2 m3 methane 7 per kg indicating requirements of 350 MT biomass/ha to attain the 70,000 m3
yield projected by NAS. Ueki and Kobayashi (1981) expect more than 200 MT/ha/yr. Reddy and Tucker
(1983) report experimental maximum of more than a half ton a day. The liquid sludge is an organic fertilizer
with soil conditioner as a byproduct (Curtis and Duke, 1982). Bengali farmers use dry water hyacinths as
fuel, collecting and piling them up to dry at the onset of the cold season (C.S.I.R., 1948-1976). The ashes are
then used as fertilizer. In India, a ton of dried water hyacinth yield ca 50 liters ethanol and 200 kg residual
fiber (7,700 Btu). Bacterial fermentation of one ton yields 26,500 cu ft gas (600 Btu) with 51.6% methane,
25.4% hydrogen, 22.1% CO2, and 1.2% oxygen. Gasification of one ton dry matter by air and steam at high
temperatures (800°) gives ca 40,000 ft3 (ca 1,100 m3) natural gas (143 Btu/cu ft?) containing 16.6% H3,
4.8% methane, 21.7% CO, 4.1% CO2, and 52.8% N. The high moisture content of water hyacinth, adding so
much to handling costs, tends to limit commercial ventures. In arid climates with natural impoundments,
cluttered with water hyacinth, the water might be viewed positively rather than negatively. Taking advantage
of prevailing winds, collections and processors might be located on an impoundment (perhaps even a
wastewater treatment system). The harvested biomass could be converted to ethanol, natural gas, even
hydrogen and nitrogen (who needs gaseous N), fertilizer, the byproduct water and fertilizer used to irrigate
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nearby cropland. Since waterhyacinth is intolerant of salt, salinization might eventually jeopardize this
venture. Waterhyacinths do not occur in water with average salanities greater than 15% that of sea water. In
brackish water, its leaves show epinasty and chlorosis, eventually dying. Saltcedars (Tamarix) might be
planted to mine the salts, themselves being used in the production of fuel and fertilizer (somewhat salty). I'm
inclined to agree with Benemann (1981), "Development of aquatic plant systems for waste treatment and
food-feed-fiber-fuel production may be a prudent investment with a large potential return...In case of
microalgae and water hyacinth, a continuous, hydraulic production system can be designed. This allows
better utilization of capital investments than in conventional agriculture, which is essentially a batch
operation."

Biotic Factors
Azotobacter chroococcum, an N-fixing bacteria, may be concentrated around the bases of the petioles but
doesn't fix N unless the plant is suffering extreme N-deficiency (Matai and Bagchi, 1980). Neochetinia
eichhorniae, imported to Florida from Argentina in 1972, has caused "a substantial reduction in
waterhyacinth production" (in Louisiana) in the form of reduced plant height, weight, root length, and fewer
daughter plants (Goyer and Stark, 1981).

References
Agriculture Handbook 366. 1970. Selected weeds of the United States. USDA, ARS. USGPO.
Washington.
Benemann, J.R. 1981. Energy from fresh and brackish water aquatic plants. p. 99-121.In: Klass, D.L.
(ed.), Biomass as a nonf ossil fuel source. ACS Symposium Series 144. ACS. Washington. 564 p.
Curtis, C.R. and Duke, J.A. 1982. An assessment of land biomass and energy potential for the
Republic of Panama. vol. 3. Institute of Energy Conversion. Univ. Delaware.
C.S.I.R. (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research). 1948-1976. The wealth of India. 11 vols. New
Delhi.
Duke, J.A. 1981b. The gene revolution. Paper 1. p. 89-150. In: Office of Technology Assessment,
Background papers for innovative biological technologies for lesser developed countries. USGPO.
Washington.
Duke, J.A. and Wain, K.K. 1981. Medicinal plants of the world. Computer index with more than
85,000 entries. 3 vols.
Gohl, B. 1981. Tropical feeds. Feed information summaries and nutritive values. FAO Animal
Production and Health Series 12. FAO, Rome.
Goyer, R.A. and Stark, J.D. 1981. Suppressing water hyacinth with an imported weevil. La. Agr.
24(4):4-5.
Holm, L.G., Plunknett, D.L., Pancho, J.V., and Herberger, J.P. 1977. The world's worst weeds. Univ.
Press of Hawaii. Honolulu.
Holm, L.G., Pancho, J.V., Herberger, J.P., and Plucknett, D.L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world
weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Mara, M.J. 1976. Estimated values for selected water hyacinth by-products. Econ. Bot. 30:383-387.
Matai, S. and Bagchi, D.K. 1980. Water hyacinth: a plant with prolific bioproductivity and
photosynthesis. p. 144-148. In: Gnanam, A., Krishnaswamy, S., and Kahn, J.S. (eds.), Proc. Internat.
Symp. on Biol. Applications of Solar Energy. MacMillan Co. of India, Madras.
N.A.S. 1976. Making aquatic weeds useful. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.
Perry, L.M. 1980. Medicinal plants of east and southeast Asia. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Reddy, K.R. and Tucker, J.C. 1983. Productivity and nutrient uptake of water hyacinth Eichhornia
crassipes. 1. Effect of nitrogenous source. Econ. Bot. 37(2):237-247.
Reed, C.F. 1970. Selected weeds of the United States. Ag. Handbook 366. USDA, Washington, DC.
Smith, W.H. and Dowd, M.L. 1981. Biomass production in Florida. J. For. 79(8):508-511.
Ueki, K. and Kobayashi, T. 1981. Cultivation of new biomass resources. Energy Develop. in Japan
3(3):285-300.
Wolverton, B.C. and McDonald, R.C. 1981. Energy from vascular plant wastewater treatment systems
Eichhornia crassipes, Spirodela lemna, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Pueraria lobata, biomass
harvested for fuel production. Econ. Bot. 35(2):224-232.
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Complete list of references for Duke, Handbook of Energy Crops

last update July 9, 1996

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