Ammonium salt of glyphosate (Excel mera 71) - a potential herbicide for the control of Clidemia hirta in south Indian tea fields

摘要

Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don (Family: Melastomataceae) has become a problematic weed species in tea fields in Vandiperiyar and Pirmed, Idukki District, Kerala and in a few estates in the Anamallais, Coimbatore District, Tamilnadu, since it is not controlled by the herbicide glyphosate at the recommended dose. The weed species is also noticed as an aggressive colonizer along the waste lands and road sides in Valparai. It is an invasive plant species commonly known as soap bush and Koster's curse. Kosterwas the man who accidentally introduced seeds of Clidemia hirta to Fiji islands in coffee nursery, where its problematic nature was first noticed around 1920 (Paine, 1934; Simmonds, 1937). The genus name Clidemia is to honour the ancient Greek author Cleidemus (Quattrocchi Umberto, 2000) and hirta is derived from the Latin word meaning hairy (Breaden et al., 2012).