Abstract
Sowthistle (Sonchus asper L.) is believed to be a highly resource demanding species that spreads mainly by seeds. In this study, the effect of light availability on plant size and seed production was investigated. Sowthistle plants showed high phenotypic plasticity in their height, number of leaves, leaf length and number of branches per plant in relation to light availability. Seed mass production per plant ranged from >3.5 g in the control to less than 0.2 g in the 50% light availability treatment. It was concluded that changing the canopy architecture of crops can suppress growth and seed production in this plant. The results of this research can be used to develop models in crop-weed competition.
Highlights
Annual sowthistle (Sonchus asper L.) is a broad leaf weed from the Asteraceae
Sowthistle plants grown under the two lower light availability (50 and 70% light availability) had significantly (P
The total number of leaves on the main stem of sowthistle plant at the end of experiment was not affected by the amount of light availability (Figure 1)
Summary
Annual sowthistle (Sonchus asper L.) is a broad leaf weed from the Asteraceae. It is a common weed among many crops [1]. The ability to germinate at any time of the year, compete well for resources and interfere with crop harvest are the most important features of this weed. In sustainable agriculture, manipulating the amount of light availability is one of the methods for controlling weeds [7]. It can be achieved through the selection of the appropriate crop cultivars, seeding time, and crop density
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