STUDIES ON THE WEED FLORA OF AGASTYAMUNI BLOCK, RUDRAPRAYAG DISTRICT, UTTARAKHAND

Abstract

Weed commonly called ‘khar- kabad’ in Uttarakhand or ‘kharpatvar’ in India, and is one of the major biological constraints that limits crop productivity. The present communication pertains to survey and inventory of weed flora in Agastyamuni block of district Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand. The study was based on extensive and intensive field survey made during July 2018 to October 2019. During the study period the authors have reported a total 312 species belonging to 188 genera and 54 families from dicots, monocots and pteridophyta. Asteraceae was found to be the most dominant family followed by Poaceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae respectively. Survey results also revealed that most of the recorded species were annuals followed by perennials and biennials. Most abundant species were Bidense pilosa, Chenopodium album, Erigeron canadensis, Cynodon dactylon, Gallinsogo parviflora, Eupatorium adenophorum, Oxalis conrniculata, Parthenium hysterophorus, Lantana camara, Soncchus arvensis, Ageratum conozoides, Plantago major, Ganaphallium lutealbum, Siegesbeckia orientalis, Youngia japonica, Amaranthus virids, Stellaria media and Phalaris minor. Many weeds are ethnobotanically important and utilized by the local community.