Weed floristic composition in palm gardens in Plains of Eastern Himalayan region of West Bengal

摘要

Weeds are unwanted plants in the crop land that compete for nutrients, water and space. Proper knowledge about weed flora is important for their management. Weather conditions in sub-Himalayan West Bengal favour weed growth. Therefore, a study was conducted to find out the weed floristic composition of different palm gardens in this region. The results showed that dicots were predominant in the palm gardens. Maximum number of weeds was found in the oil palm gardens and the least in the fruiting arecanut gardens. A total of 20 angiosperm families were found in the study area. Among them, 17 belonged to dicots and three to monocots. A total of five pteridophytes were found. Members of Poaceae, Asteraceae, Oxalidaceae and Urti-caceae were found in all the plots studied. Three species, viz. Ageratum conyzoides, Oxalis corniculata and Vandelia were found to be more widely distributed in all four palms as well as in fallow land, showing Shannon's index value >0.75. Prevalence of some weeds in all the study areas revealed that they can grow under any conditions.