Floristic composition and relative abundance of weeds in annual crops of Manitoba

Abstract

Annual surveys for weeds of fields seeded to spring wheat, barley, oats, flax, and canola in Manitoba were conducted during 1978, 1979, and 1981. Fields were surveyed during July and early August each year using a stratified random sampling procedure. Data for the crops and years were combined for analysis. The frequency, the area infested, and the density of the infestation were determined for each species. These three measures of the abundance of the weed were combined into a single synthetic value called relative abundance. Nine of the 152 species recorded by the surveyors accounted for 77% of the total relative abundance. Ranked in order by relative abundance, these species were green foxtail (Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.), wild oats (Avena fatua L.), wild buckwheat (Polygonum convolvulus L.), annual smartweed (Polygonum spp.), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.), lamb's-quarters (Chenopodium album L.), wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.), perennial sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis L.), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.). Green foxtail was the predominant weed with an abundance value three times larger than wild oats or wild buckwheat. The pattern of dominance found in Manitoba fields was similar to results from comparable surveys in Saskatchewan and North Dakota. Key words: Relative abundance, weed survey, weed density, green foxtail, wild oats, wild buckwheat