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NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY GEORGE CAMPUS

PLANT PRODUCTION

COLLECTION
OF WEEDS
MODULE CODE: SPP1002 LECTURER: CATHERIN ECKERT

Student Name: Bernard Yves

Student Surname: ESSAMA MBEZELE

Student Number: 21719695


INTRODUCTION
A weed may be defined as any plant or vegetation that interferes with the objectives of farming or
forestry, such as growing crops, grazing animals or cultivating forest plantation (Popay, 2008). It can
be also qualified as pest plant, invasive alien plant that grows where it is not wanted. A plant may be
valuable or useful in a garden, or on farm or plantation – but if the same plant is growing where it
reduces the value of agricultural produce or spoils aesthetic or environmental values, then is
considered a weed (Popay, 2008). For organic farmer, as they cannot use a large number of
weedicides, they consider it as their most serious barrier to successful organic production. Weeds can
be established in pasture, in field crops, in garden.

Many weeds grow among crop and in garden. They germinate readily and grow flower and fruit
quickly to produce copious seeds. They mainly compete for water, nutrients and space.

Weeds can become established and persist in grazed pasture. Some, such as Scrub weeds, thistles and
dock reduce the pasture available to stock (Popay, 2008). Other weeds have negative effects on
livestock. They can harm livestock by poisoning (seneccio jacobaea), damaging skin and eye
(Critesion spp), causing infections such as scabby mouth in sheep (Cirsium arvense), and tainting
dairy produce (coronopus didymus) (Popay, 2008)

Schonbeck states, that in term of plant becoming weeds,” Weeds are Nature’s way of covering soil
that has become exposed by fire, flood, landslide, clear-cutting, clean tillage, or other disturbance.” A
weed problem becomes present when 3 conditions are occur: a large weed seed bank in the soil, a
susceptible crop, a favourable environment for weed. (Schonbeck, 2013)
REFERENCES

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