WEED

SCIENCE
By: EDLuceroIlagan, PA, MAgr
Course Instructor
Definition of Weed Science

 Study of weeds and their

control
 Its main goal is the
formulation of the most
effective, economical, and
satisfactory methods of
controlling weeds.
Introduction: A Weed

 Worldwide, there are

approximately 250,000
species of plants, of those,
about 3% or 8,000 species
behave as weeds.
Definition of a Weed
 A plant growing where it is not
wanted
 A plant whose potentialities for
harm far outweighs its
potentialities for food
 A plant whose virtues have not
been discovered
 A plant or plant part interfering
with the objectives of man in a
specific situation
 A misfit
Why weeds as pest are not recognized
early?
 The damage caused by weeds are
not visible as those caused by
insects and diseases.
 Seldom results to total crop
failure.
 Crops and weeds are always
associated together.
Characteristics of a Weed
 A unique characteristic of a weed
is its excellent adaptation to the
disturbed environment.
 They are able to occupy the
ecological spaces left open in
those environment altered by
man for his use.
Other Characteristics
 They have rapid vegetative
growth.
 They reproduce rapidly and
mature early.
 Most weeds are very prolific
and produce abundant seeds.
 They exhibit persistency.
Other Characteristics
 They have the ability to
survive and adapt to adverse
conditions.
 Propagules possess
dormancy or can be induced
to become dormant under
favorable conditions.
 Adapted to crop competition
Other Characteristics
 Some exhibit mimicry.
 They exhibit spontaneous
appearance without being
planted.
 Could be regarded as being
useless, unwanted and
undesirable
Effects of Weeds
The effects of weeds on
agriculture
 Reduce crop yield by
competing for water, light,
soil nutrients and space
 Contaminate crops, reducing
crop quality
 Interference with harvest
and pesticide application
Effects of Weeds
The effects of weeds on
agriculture
 Serve as hosts for crop
diseases or provide shelters
for insect
 Production of chemical
substances which are toxic
to crop plants (allelopathy),
animals or humans.
Effects of Weeds
The effects of weeds on
livestock
 Some are harmful and
poisonous to grazing animals
 Reduction in quality of
pasture land
Effects of Weeds
The effects of weeds on
human
 Weeds can cause human
health problems (asthma,
skin irritation)
 Some water weeds can affect
the quality of our drinking
water if infestations are not
managed within water
supply dams.
Effects of Weeds
The effects of weeds on
human
 Impose limitation to the farm
size of a farmer
 Can serve as sources of fire
hazards
Benefits of Weeds
 Help conserve soil moisture
and prevent erosion
 Source of food for human,
animals (forage) and wildlife
 Add organic matter to the
soil
 Serve as host and nectar to
beneficial insects
Benefits of Weeds
 Aesthetic
qualities/beautification of
landscape
 Medicinal use

 Habitat for wildlife hence

biodiversity conservation
Classification of Weed
Generally, there are
 Common weeds

- weeds that are more or less

found in every farm but not
exceptionally injurious and
are readily controlled by
good farming practices.
Classification of Weed
Generally, there are
 Noxious weeds

- weeds that are particularly

undesirable because of their
certain undesirable
characteristics, like the presence
of an extensive perennial
underground system which
enable to resist the most
determined effort to control.
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
1. Based on outward appearance or
gross morphology
 Grasses

- are members of the family

Gramineae (Poaceae) which range
from small, twisted, erect, or
creeping annuals and perennials.
- Stems are called culms with
well-defined nodes and
internodes.
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
1. Based on outward appearance or
gross morphology
 Grasses

- Leaves arise alternately in two

rows from the nodes.
- The leaf is composed of two
parts, the leaf sheath and leaf
blade.
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
1. Based on outward appearance or
gross morphology
 Sedges

- Are members of the family

Cyperaceae, has a narrow
elongated leaves but differs from
grasses by their distinguished
triangular stem.
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
1. Based on outward appearance or
gross morphology
 Broadleaves

- Are members of the family

Dicotyledonae and
Monocotyledonae characterized by
shorter but wider leaves with
either parallel or netted venation
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
2. Based on maturity period or life
cycle
 Annual weed

- is one that matures in one

growing season or within one year

Example: barnyard grass, goose

grass
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
2. Based on maturity period or life
cycle
 Perennial weed

- is one that matures in more than

one growing season or year

Example: purple nutsedge,

bermuda grass
Classification of Weed
Specifically, weeds are classified:
3. Based on manner of reproduction
 Sexual weed

- is one that reproduces by means

of seeds or seed propagules (a
plant part which is capable of
regenerating its own species

Example: barnyard grass

Classification of Weeds
Specifically, weeds are classified:
3. Based on manner of reproduction
 Asexual weed

- is one that reproduces by means

of vegetative propagules
Classification of Weeds
Examples of vegetative propagules:
Rhizome-a modified underground stem
with buds and scales (e.g. Cogon
grass)
Stolon-a modified aboveground stem
that creeps and roots at the side
(e.g. bermuda grass)
Tuber-a short thickened underground
stem (e.g. purple nutsedge)
Off-shoot-a baby plant that arises from
the mother plant (e.g. water lettuce)
Classification of Weeds
Specifically, weeds are classified:
4. Based on habit of stem growth
 Erect

- with horizontal shoots close to

the ground
Example: Itch grass
 Decumbent
- lying along the ground or along a
surface, with the extremity
curving upward
Example: Goose grass
Classification of Weeds
Specifically, weeds are classified:
4. Based on habit of stem growth
 Prostate

- rigidly upright or straight

Example: Jungle rice
 Ascending
- sloping or leading upward
Example: Day flower
Classification of Weeds
Specifically, weeds are classified:
4. Based on habit of stem growth
 Creeping

- having a stem that grows

horizontally along the ground
Example: Bermuda grass
 Twinning
- capable of climbing above the
ground by twinning their stems
around a support
Example: Three-lobed morning glory
Classification of Weeds
Specifically, weeds are classified:
5. Based on habitat or place for
preferred growth
 Wetland weed

- one that grows well in lowland or

moist soil
Examples: Barnyard grass, water lettuce
 Dryland weed
- one that grows well in upland or
drier soil
Examples: itch grass, morning glory
Major Weeds in the
Philippines
Grasses
Jungle rice
Barnyard grass
Sprangle top
Southern sandbur
Bermuda grass
Crowfoot grass
Large crabgrass
Goose grass
Cogon
Paspalidium
Itch grass
Sedges
Umbrella plant
Rice flat sedge
Purple nutsedge
Fimbristylis
Bulrush
Broadleaves
Water purslane
Pickerel weed
Water lettuce
Goose weed
Tropic ageratum
Spiny amaranth
Slender amaranth
Beggarticks
Celosia
Spindle top
Dayflower
Spreading dayflower
Eclipta
Garden spurge
Indian heliotrope
Morning glory
Lantana
Sensitive plant
Common purslane
Synedrella
Horse purslane
Tridax
Little iron weed
CROP AND WEED
COMPETITION
Concept
 Competition is nothing but the
struggle for existence and
superiority.
 Competition is maximum
when available resources for
crop growth become limited.
Concept
 Competition is a negative
interaction where individuals
make simultaneous demands
that exceed limited resources
and, while both suffer, one
individual suffers less.
Crop – Weed Competition
 Crop – weed competition
means the competition
between crop and weed in a
natural ecosystem in response
to resources struggle for
existence and superiority.
Crop – Weed Competition
Crop – weed competition
occurs in two broad aspects:
 Direct competition – for
nutrient, moisture, light and
space
 Indirect competition –
through exudation and/or
production of allelopathic
chemicals
What Do Plants Compete For?
Aboveground Competition

Light

Water Nutrients

Belowground Competition
Components of the Overall
Competitive Effect
 Intraspecific competition
between plants of the
cultivated species
 Interspecific competition
between plants of the
cultivated species and weed
species
Components of the Overall
Competitive Effect
 Interspecific competition
between plants of the
different weed species
 Intraspecific competition
between plants of the same
weed species
What Do Plants Compete For?

Competition for nutrients

Plants compete mostly for:

 Nitrogen

 Phosphorus

 Potassium
What Do Plants Compete For?

Competition for moisture

 Occurs below ground between

roots
What Do Plants Compete For?
Competition for light

 Leaves are the site of light

competition. Whenever a leaf is
shaded by another, there is
competition for light.
 Plants with large area indices
(LAI) have a competitive
advantage with plants with
smaller leaf areas.
Factors Affecting Weed-Crop
Competition
 Timing of weed emergence
 Growth form
 Weed density

 Duration of weed growth

 Characteristics of weed
species
 Characteristics of crop species
Allelopathy
 Greek words: allelon (of each
other); pathos (to suffer)
 The term allelopathy is coined
by H. Molisch in 1937, Father of
Allelopathy.
Allelopathy
 A biological phenomenon where one
plant inhibits the growth of
another.
 Allelopathic substances, such as
phenolic derivatives, alkaloids,
coumarins, terpenoids, flavonoids,
ethylenes and other secondary
metabolites can inhibit or stimulate
the growth and development of
plants and microorganisms in the
surroundings
Allelopathy
Examples of allelopathic weeds:
o Dayflower and spreading

dayflower show allelopathic

potential on the growth of L.
sativa