Abstract:
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart). Solms) is considered as a serious pest in many
lakes, irrigation canals, stagnant ponds, waterways and semi-wet areas in Sri Lanka. Bolgoda
Lake has been severely affected by excessive growth of water hyacinth, which resulted in
clogging of major waterways, adversely affecting navigation. This study was carried out to
determine the growth characteristics of water hyacinth under influence of the physical and
chemical factors in Bolgoda Lake. The parameters such as biomass, biomass production per
day, phosphorus and nitrogen content in plant tissues and pH, temperature, salinity,
phosphorus and nitrogen content in the water body were measured.
