WEED FLORA OF SUGARCANE IN DISTRICT BANNU, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHAWA, PAKISTAN

A survey was conducted to highlight the weed flora of sugarcane crop in district Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Province, Pakistan during the year 2011. The relative density of weeds was determined using the Oosting scale method. This study explored 73 weed species belonging to 65 genera and 27 families in sugarcane fields in district Bannu. Out of the 27 weed families, three were monocots (with 13 genera and 13 species) and 24 were dicots (with 52 genera and 60 species). The most common families in terms of abundance and number of species infesting sugarcane crop were Asteraceae (12 genera and 12 species), Poaceae (11 genera and 11 species), Papilionaceae (5 genera and 5 species), Solanaceae (4 genera and 5 species), Malvaceae (4 genera and 4 species), Amaranthaceae (3 genera and 5 species), Euphorbiaceae (3 genera and 3 species), Polygonaceae (2 genera and 4 species), Plantaginaceae (2 genera and 2 species), Verbenaceae (2 genera and 2 species), Chenopodiaceae (1 genera and 3 species), and Convolvulaceae (1 genera and 2 species). The rest of the families were represented by only one species each. According to the Oosting scale, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crus-galli, Eclipta alba, Enneapogon avenaceus, Leptochloa panicea were the most abundant weed species in sugarcane fields followed by Amaranthus viridis, Alopecurus nepalensis, Carduus argentatus, Cirsium arvense, Cyperus rotundus, Dichanthium annulatum, Eleusine indica, Oxalis corniculata, Parthenium hysterophorus, Phalaris minor, Polygonum barbatum, Sorghum halepense which were reported as significantly reducing sugarcane yields in the locality and only judicious management of these species may enable the sugarcane growers to harvest bumper yields of their crop.