Scribd
Upload
998 views3 pages

Dissemination - Dispersal of Weeds

This document discusses the various mechanisms by which weed seeds are dispersed. It identifies several key dispersal agents including wind, water, animals, humans, machinery, and intercontinental movement. Weed seeds have evolved various anatomical structures like pappus, wings, hooks, and barbs that aid dispersal by wind, water, or by attaching to animal fur. Dispersal allows weeds to spread to new habitats and environments where competition is reduced. The long-term viability and widespread dispersal of weed seeds makes eradication very difficult.

Uploaded by

Sanchita Kulshrestha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
998 views3 pages

Dissemination - Dispersal of Weeds

This document discusses the various mechanisms by which weed seeds are dispersed. It identifies several key dispersal agents including wind, water, animals, humans, machinery, and intercontinental movement. Weed seeds have evolved various anatomical structures like pappus, wings, hooks, and barbs that aid dispersal by wind, water, or by attaching to animal fur. Dispersal allows weeds to spread to new habitats and environments where competition is reduced. The long-term viability and widespread dispersal of weed seeds makes eradication very difficult.

Uploaded by

Sanchita Kulshrestha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

DISSEMINATION / DISPERSAL OF WEEDS

● A plant seed is a unique genetic entity, a biological individual. However, a seed is


in a diapause state, an essentially dormant condition, awaiting the ecological
conditions that will allow it to grow into an plant, and produce its own seeds.
● Seeds must therefore germinate in a safe place, and then establish themselves as a
young seedling, develop into a juvenile plant, and finally become a sexually mature
adult that can pass its genetic material on to the next generation.
● The chances of a seed developing are generally enhanced if there is a mechanism
for dispersing to an appropriate habitat at some distance away from the parent
plant.
● The reason for dispersal is that closely related organisms have similar ecological
requirements. Obviously, competition with the parent plant will be greatly reduced
if its seeds have a mechanism to disperse some distance away. Their ability to
spread and remain viable in the soil for years makes eradication nearly impossible.
● Seeds have no way to move on their own, but they are excellent travellers. Plants
have evolved various mechanisms that disperse their seeds effectively.
● Many species of plants have seeds with anatomical structures that make them very
buoyant, so they can be dispersed over great distances by the winds.
● In the absence of proper means of their dispersal, weeds could not have moved
from one country to another.
● An effective dispersal of weed seeds and fruits requires two essentials a successful
dispersing agent and an effective adaptation to the new environment.

There are two ways of looking at weed seed dispersal:


● The expanding range and increasing population size of an invading weed species
into a new area
● The part of the process by which an established and stabilized weed species in an
area maintains itself within that area Dissemination includes two separate
processes. They are dispersal (leaving mother plant) and post-dispersal events
(subsequent movement). Dispersal of seed occurs in 4 dimensions viz.
1.Length
2.Width: Land/habitat/soil surface area phenomena.
3.Height: soil depth, in the air.
4.Time: shatters immediately after ripening (or) need harvesting activity to release seed
COMMON WEED DISPERSAL AGENTS

(a) Wind
Many seeds are well adapted to wind travel. Cottony coverings and parachute-like
structures allow seeds to float with the wind. Examples of wind-dispersed seeds include
common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), common dandelion, Canada thistle, and
perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis). Weed seeds and fruits that disseminate through
wind possess special organs to keep them afloat. Such organs are:
● Pappus – It is a parachute like modification of persistent calyx into hairs
e.g. Asteraceae family weeds - Tridax procumbens
● Comose - Some weed seeds are covered with hairs, partially or fully
e.g. Calotropis sp.
● Feathery, persistent styles - Styles are persistent and feathery
e.g. Anemone sp.
● Baloon - Modified papery calyx that encloses the fruits loosely along with
entrapped air e.g. Physalis minima
● Wings - One or more appendages that act as wings e.g. Acer
macrophyllum
Factors that influence wind dispersal:
● seed weight
● seed shape
● structures (wings or pappus)
● height of release
● wind speed and turbulence
(b) Water
Aquatic weeds disperse largely through water. They may drift either as whole plants,
plant fragments or as seeds with the water currents. Terrestrial weed seeds also disperse
through irrigation and drainage water. Weed seed often moves with surface water runoff
into irrigation water and ponds, where it is carried to other fields. Weeds growing in
ditch banks along irrigation canals and ponds are the major source of weed seed
contamination of irrigation water.
Weed seed often remains viable in water for several years, creating a "floating seed
bank" and allowing weeds to disperse over large areas in moving water. Field bindweed
seed, for example, remains over 50 per cent viable after being submerged in water for
more than 4 years. Some seeds have special adaptations that aid in water travel. The
seed pod of curly dock, for example, is equipped with pontoons that carry the floating
seed.

(c) Animals
Several weed species produce seeds with barbs, hooks, spines, and rasps that cling to the
fur of animals or to clothing and then can be dispersed to long distances. Farm animals
carry weed seeds and fruits on their skin, hair and hooves. This is aided by special
appendages such as Hooks (Xanthium strumarium), Stiff hairs (Cenchrus spp), Sharp
spines (Tribulus terrestris) and Scarious bracts (Achyranthus aspera). Even ants carry a
huge number of weed seeds. Donkeys eat Prosophis julifera pods
Weed seeds are often ingested and passed through the digestive tracts of animals.
Animal droppings provide an ideal nutrient and moisture environment
for weed germination. Only a small percentage of the seed remains viable after exposure
to an animal's digestive enzymes. The ingested weed seeds are passed in viable form
with animal excreta (0.2% in chicks, 9.6% in calves, 8.7% in horses and 6.4% in sheep),
which is dropped wherever the animal moves. This mechanism of weed dispersal is
called endozoochory e.g. Lantana seeds by birds, Loranthus seeds stick on beaks of
birds. Viable weed seeds are present in the dung of farm animals, which form part of the
FYM. Besides, addition of mature weeds to compost pit as farm waste also act as
source.

(d) Dispersal by Man


Man disperses numerous weed seeds and fruits with raw agricultural produce. Weeds
mature at the same time and height along with crop. Due to their similar size and shape
as that of crop seed man unknowingly harvest the weeds also, and aids in dispersal
of weed seeds. Such weeds are called “Satellite weeds” e.g. Avena fatua, Phalaris
minor.

(e) Dispersal by machinery


Weed seeds often are dispersed by tillage and harvesting equipments. Seeds move from
field to field on the soil that sticks to tractor tires, and vegetative structures often travel
on tillage and cultivation equipment and latter dropping them in other fields to start new
infestation. Disc-type cultivation equipment is less likely to drag vegetative plant parts
than are shovels or sweeps.

(f) Intercontinental movement of weeds


Introduction of weeds from one continent to another is through crop seed, feed stock,
packing material and nursery stock e.g. Parthenium hysterophorus

(g) Crop mimicry dispersal


Weed seed adaptations to look like crop seed: plant body or seed same size, shape, and
morphology as crop e.g. barnyard grass bio-type looking like rice escapes hand weeding
and is dispersed with rice. Nightshade fruit (berries) are same size, shape as dry beans,
harvested and dispersed with beans.
-
( h) As admixtures with crop seed, animal feed, hay, and straw
Weeds probably are spread more commonly during the seeding of a new crop or in
animal feed and bedding than by any other method. Seed labels often indicate a tiny
percentage of weed seed, but consider this example. If a legume seed contains 0.001
percent dodder (a parasitic annual; Cuscuta campestris) seed by weight, there will be
eight dodder seeds per 2 kg of legume seed. If the legume seed is sown in a field despite
an extremely low dodder seed percentage by weight, the small size of the seed,
combined with rapid early-season growth, could result in an infested legume field within
a single season.

You might also like