Inventory of Agrestals in Telangana, India: Their Impact and Management

Abstract

Background: Understanding the sociological structure of weeds in crop fields is a pre-requisite for effective management. Identification and quantification of weed species found in different crops are possible to provide strategies for weed control. The exploration studies of weeds in agro-ecosystems are meager in Telangana, so that the present study has initiated to explore the weeds and educate the local farmers about the impact of agrestals and it will be of immense helpful to control the loss of crop productivity first of its kind in the region. Methods: The inventory of agrestals was carried out in 33 districts of Telangana State during 2016-2020 in two growing seasons (kharif, rabi) and it is an overview in agro-ecosystems. Result: The study focuses on the documentation of weed taxa in agricultural fields and recorded ca. 249 plant taxa pertaining to 150 genera and 47 families. Cyperaceae is the predominant family with 38 plant species followed by Poaceae (33 spp.), Asteraceae (20 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (17 spp.), Amaranthaceae (16 spp.). Echinochloa crus-galli is the dominant taxon in paddy crop with its mimic, where Cyperus rotundus is a serious competitor in many cultivated crops. The present study is very climacteric for farmers, agronomists and plant breeders for cognizance, to know the intensity of weeds impact and management skills.