AGR 3102 (1)

PRINCIPLES OF WEED
SCIENCE

WEED ESTABLISHMENT,
WEED AND HUMAN:
PROBLEMS AND BENEFITS
 WEEK 3 - TOPICS COVERED

• Successful characteristics ensuring weed

establishment

• Weed and Human:

- Type of losses weeds cause to crops

- direct losses
- indirect losses
- Benefits of weed???
What Makes Weed a Successful
Weedy Plant?

Weeds possess one or more of the

following characteristics (weediness
characteristics) that set them apart from
non weedy plants:
1.Prolific/abundant seed production:

– Ageratum conyzoides – 5086 seeds/plant

– Hyptis capitata – 5412 seeds/plant
– Echinochloa crus-galli – 7000 seeds/plant
– Eleucine indica – 50000 seeds/plant
– Cyperus esculentus - 90000 seeds/plant
– Amarantus spinosus – 235000 seeds/plant
– Asystasia gangetica - 27 mill. seeds/ha
(from a single plant - multiply to 4500 plants
in 4 months)
2.High tolerance to harsh environment &
capability to occupy areas disturbed by
humans:

• High ecological & environmental tolerance.

• The more an area is disturbed, the higher

competition by weeds.
High ecological tolerance
High environmental tolerance
(supposed to be rice field)
3. Persistent and long-term survival of buried
seeds.

• Some weed seeds can have the potential to

remain viable for years even when buried in the
soil.
– A. gangetica: 8 months in the soil
– Common bermudagrass: 12 years
– Some weeds: > 30 years in the soil
4. Presence of vegetative part alongside the sexual
reproductive structure (especially creeping
perennials):

Seeds + vegetative = more aggressive growth

and spread (short+long distance), longer
survival (vegetative parts have food reserve)

Adaptable for short & long distance dispersal

5. High competence/strong competitor

- Very extensive root systems for nutrient and

water absorption

- Vigorous growth and good canopy to

suppress other plants
6. Rapid establishment and flexible reproduction time:

- Weeds fast to establish (< 4 weeks to turn adult)

- Under stressed conditions, many weeds can forcefully

shorten their life cycle & and produce viable seeds in a
relatively short time period (6 to 8 weeks). e.g.
Limnocharis flava...
Weed and Human
Type of losses caused by weeds to
crops

1. Direct losses (yield loss) in crop:

• Competition; amensalism; parasitism; reduce
harvest efficiency; reduce harvested crop
quality.

2. Indirect losses:
• Increase production cost, toxic harm to
humans and animals, crop damage from
weed control, host to other pests, cost on
blockage by weeds, reduce in value.
1. Direct losses through:

a) Competition

• Major mean of weed interference.

• Compete for light, water, nutrients, gasses,

space & canopy = weeds always win = less
available growth inputs for the crops.

• Consequence = crop growth is affected and a

yield reduction occurs.
b. Amensalism

• Depressive effect of a plant upon its neighbors

(bad neighbor).
• “Allelopathy”
• A plant releases into the environment (via roots or
leaves or residue) toxic organic chemicals
(allelochemical) that affect the growth and
development of surrounding/adjacent plants.
• Example: Mikania micrantha (mile-a-minute).
• Parthenium hysterophorus: releases a toxic
chemical parthenin that can affect crops
(Koshla and Sobti, 1981; Wakjira et al., 2009)
and other weed species (Belz et al., 2007).
c. Parasitism
• A plant living in, on, or with another plant at whose
expense it obtains food, shelter, or support. Orobanche,
Striga, Fern (duit-duit, Davallia denticulata).
• Can cause plant to suffer from nutrient deficiency thus
affecting its productivity.
d. Reduce crop maintenance and harvesting
efficiency

• Weeds increase harvesting losses by blocking

harvester’s feeder (i.e. in grain crops).

• Interfere with management/maintenance and

harvesting process.

• Weeds that stuck in the harvester can slow

down harvest speed.

• Additional wear (worn-out) on harvesting

equipment caused by woody/sturdy weeds.
Pepper harvest disrupted by
weed in the harvester

Weeds covering
rubber, durian, and oil
palm, interfere with
crop maintenance
e. Reduce harvested crop quality

• Residue and weed seed may lower the price of

crops.

• Weeds may cause off-flavors in products made

from crop. Example: Lantana camara seeds.
2. Indirect losses through:

a. Increase production cost.

• Via cost of control (herbicides, herbicide

application, additional land preparation, equipment
costs, labour cost).

b. Toxic weeds can cause harm to humans and

animals.

• Toxic released by some weeds can cause burn,

scars, blindness, sickness; e.g. giant hogweed
(Heracleum mantegazzianum), poison ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans), Parthenium
hysterophorus.
 • Giant hogweed
(wikipedia.org)

• Poison ivy (wikipedia.org)

Parthenium hysterophorus:
• Contact causes dermatitis (skin burn) and respiratory
malfunction in humans and animals (Ramamoorthy et
al. 2003).

• Cattle that eat it produce foul-smelling milk or even die

(Gerald Tenywa, 2009).
• L. camara: if taken causes hepatotoxicity (liver damage)
and photosensitivity (skin and sight) in animals such as
sheep, goats, bovines, and horses (Barceloux, D. G. 2008.)

www.florafinder.com
c. Crop damage from weed control methods.

• Herbicide application may cause damage to crops,

purposely or incidentally.
• Crop damage from mechanical or other control
methods.

d. Weeds become host to other pests.

• Alternate host and nest to insects, microbes carrying

diseases, or nematodes that attack crops. Increase
production cost on controlling other pests.
• Brown rice hopper - Leersia hexandra, Echinochloa crus-galli,
Cyperus difformis, Cyperus iria,
Zizania aquatica (China, US).

• Root-knot nematode - C. rotundus

• E. indica and C. rotundus - barley yellow

dwarf virus (common in grain crops)
e. Cost on blockage problem by weeds.

• Aquatic weeds can potentially block the

pipes, drains, canal for irrigation. Cost on
removing the weeds.
• Blocked canal will slow down water flow,
affecting irrigation in rice field / farm = affect
crop production = reduce yield.
f. Reduce in the quality/value of an area:

• The esthetic value, beauty, quality (ie

landscape, house etc), and even land value will
be reduced by weeds.
• Sports activity will also be affected when
weeds are present.
• Dead/rotten aquatic weeds cause bad odors.
BENEFITS OF
WEEDS??????????
 Benefits of Weeds???
• Stabilizing & adding organic matter to soils –
dead weed plants can become compost, fertilizer,
mulching agent.

• Providing habitat and feed for wildlife (i.e. nectar

for bees).

• Agronomical value: prevent soil erosion, nutrient

(N2) fixation and retention, i.e. creeping legume
weeds as groundcover crops: Mimosa spp.,
Centrosema pubescens, Calopogonium
mucunoides. Vetiver grass on slopes.
• Weeds as host to
beneficial insects
(pollinators and
predator to insect
pests)
Groundcover crops
However, needs maintenance (de-creeping)
• Ornamental purposes/aesthetic qualities : water
hyacinth. Landscape plants: Acacia spp., L. camara,
Salvinia spp., ferns, turfgrass etc.
▪ Employment & new invention
opportunities.
e.g. Allelopathy (alleloherbicide)
• Products for human consumption: Limnocharis flava,
maman (Cleome gynandar, C. pentaphylla), fern-pucuk paku.
 • Medicinal use: senduduk (Melastoma malabathricum),
dukung anak (Phyllantus spp.), rumput jarum mas (Striga
asiatica), L. camara; Vernonia cinerea (Barreto F. et al. 2010. J.
Young Pharm 1;2(1):42-44; Leelarungrayub et al. 2010. J.
International Society of Sports Nutrition 2010, 7:21).

http://www.globinmed.com
http://www.wildsingapore.com
• Pasture crops (forage) or fodder (hay, silage) for livestock,
i.e. Paspalum spp., Digitaria spp. Cynodon dactylon –
Pasture Management (Dr. Ridwan Halim).

• Biological/genetic resources: germplasm/genetic

enginering for medicinal or crop improvement.
Question of the day..............

• Even though weeds have both negative

and positive attributes, agronomists and
weed scientists often emphasize only their
negative values. Why?
 Conclusion

▪ Weeds compromise production in a range of

ways: directly and indirectly.
▪ Conversely, weeds are also beneficial to
environment, wildlife, crops and us.
▪ Weed management needs to balance between
the economic costs and efficacy of control
measures, and consideration on the wider
environmental consequences of management
practices.

“taking advantage of their presence”