WEED SCIENCE

Russel Van Rosales Roa

JUNE 2, 2019
 OUTLINE:
 Definition of “Weed”
 Characteristics of Weeds
 Importance of Weeds to Man and Agriculture
 Classification of Weeds
 Reproduction and Weed Dispersal
 Crop-Weed Competition
 Methods of Weed Control
 Some Examples of Weeds
 WHAT ARE WEEDS?

“A plant growing out of place’’

 Plants growing in a place they are not
desired
 Plants that are useless, unwanted, and
undesirable
 Plants that interfere with man or any area
of his interest
 Unwanted and undesirable which interfere
with the utilization of land and water
resources, thus, affect human welfare…
 WEED CHARACTERISTICS

Rapid vegetative growth and profuse root

production
Reproduce early and efficiently
Adapted to competition and adverse
environmental condition
Seeds and vegetative propagules are
usually dormant or can be induced to be
dormant.
Cause significant damage even at low
population densities
Persist and resist control measures.
 IMPORTANCE OF WEEDS

Harmful Attributes
 Reduce yield
 Increase cost of crop production
 Can serve as alternate host for
pathogens
 Impose hazards to human and
animal health
 Clog waterways
 Release harmful chemicals
 IMPORTANCE OF WEEDS

Beneficial Attributes:
Food
Aesthetic values
Prevent soil erosion
Possible source of medicine
Source of genes for crop improvement
Return organic matter to the soil
WEED CLASSIFICATION:

A.BASED ON LIFESPAN
B.BASED ON HABITAT
C.BASED ON GROWTH HABIT
D.BASED ON STEM STRUCTURE
E.BASED ON ORIGIN
F. BASED ON GROSS MORPHOLOGY
WEED CLASSIFICATION:
A. BASED ON LIFESPAN
Annuals – complete their lifespan in a single growing season or in a year.

Perennials – have indeterminate lifespan

Simple perennials – reproduce through seeds
Creeping/Bulbous perennials – reproduce by vegetative propagules
 WEED CLASSIFICATION:

B. BASED ON HABITAT
Upland – weeds well-adapted to well-
drained soils

Lowland/Aquatic – thrive best under

saturated or flooded condition
WEED CLASSIFICATION:

C. BASED ON GROWTH HABIT

Erect – vertical growth with single or multiple stem

Creeping/prostate – grows horizontally
Twining or climbing
WEED CLASSIFICATION:

D. BASED ON STEM STRUCTURE

Herbaceous – stems are soft and
succulent

Woody – Stems are hard with a bark ---

they are usually perennials
WEED CLASSIFICATION:

E. BASED ON ORIGIN
Exotic or imported – Weeds coming from another area, adapt to a new
area and then become serious weeds.
Native/endemic
WEED CLASSIFICATION:
F. BASED ON GROSS MORPHOLOGY
Grasses – belongs to the family Poaceae/Graminae

Sedges – belongs to the family Cyperaceae

Broadleaves
HOW DO WEEDS DISPERSE?

 Dispersal unit – refers to the

structures that are dispersed or
separated from the mother plants.
 They can be dispersed by:
i. Wind – light seeds that have
wing-like outgrowths (pappus)
ii. Water
iii. Animals
iv. Man
CROP-WEED COMPETITION

 COMPETITION – struggle of two or more plants for a limited

resources.
 Interspecific – competition between different species
 Intraspecific – competition belonging to the same species
 CRITICAL THRESHOLD LEVEL – refers to the weed density
beyond which significant reductions will be incurred by the plant
 CRITICAL PERIOD OF COMPETITION – duration within the
lifespan of the crop when it is most affected by weeds. Usually
falls during the first 1/3 to ½ of the total lifespan of the crop.
MAJOR FACTORS OF COMPETITION

Nutrients – nitrogen being the most critical

for most crop-weed competition
Water – limited amount of water may
benefit the weed but not the crop
Light – shading of leafy weed reduces light
penetration to crops.
HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

A.PREVENTIVE METHODS
B.PHYSICAL/CULTURAL METHODS
C.BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
D.CHEMICAL CONTROL
HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

A. PREVENTIVE METHODS
Use of high quality, disease and weed free planting
materials
Control of weeds before they reached reproductive
stage.
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

B.PHYSICAL METHODS
Proper land preparation and management
Handweeding/slashing
Hoe weeding
Interrow cultivation
Mulching
Water management or flooding
Use of competitive crop varieties
Multiple cropping
Burning
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

C. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
Classical or inoculative – uses host specific imported living
organisms, such as insects or pathogens, from the native country
of origin to control or supress the growth of weeds of other
country.
Inundative or augmentative approach - uses very large numbers
of existing and locally occurring natural enemies by mass rearing
followed by field release. The most commonly used are fungal
pathogens.
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

D. CHEMICAL CONTROL
- Involves the use of herbicides for selective control of
weeds with minimum or no injury to the crop.
- Reduces labor and provides early season weed control
within crop rows.
- However, safety precautions should be strictly followed
because they could result to:
- Crop injury
- Poor and ineffective weed control
- Drift in residue problem
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

D. CHEMICAL CONTROL (cont…)

CLASSIFICATION OF HERBICIDES

1. Time of Application

2. Movement in Plants

3. Selectivity
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

D. CHEMICAL CONTROL (cont…)

CLASSIFICATION OF HERBICIDES
1. Time of Application
i. Preplant – applied after land preparation
ii. Pre-emergence – applied after crops are
planted but before the crop emerges
iii. Postemergence – applied after the
emergence of crops and weeds
 HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

D. CHEMICAL CONTROL (cont…)

CLASSIFICATION OF HERBICIDES
2. Movement in Plants
i. Contact – herbicides which affect the surface where they are
directly sprayed or applied
ii. Translocated – phytotoxic effects are manifested at or away
from the sites on the plants where the spray droplets are
deposited
HOW DO WE CONTROL WEEDS?

D. CHEMICAL CONTROL (cont…)

CLASSIFICATION OF HERBICIDES

3. Selectivity
i. Non-selective – herbicide that has broad-spectrum
activity, kills all plants
ii. Selective – herbicide that kill some plants leaving others
unharmed.