Types and classification of weeds

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Weeds, or, as they are popularly called, weeds, are plants that people do not cultivate for their own purposes. Over time, they have adapted to germinate in areas of cultivated soil and harm all the plants that surround them. Most wild weeds cannot be found outside crops, because the conditions that people create for cultivated plants have become vital for weeds as well. Consider further the classification of weeds, biological features and methods of dealing with such plants.

Weed Harm

At the moment, more than two thousand names of herbs are known - representatives of this species, and more than a hundred of them can harm people and animals. Even the most ordinary-looking weed may not be harmless at all. But all due to the fact that weeds take away moisture from cultivated plants, take away all fertilizers from the soil,which it contains, create a large shadow and become the epicenter of a wide variety of diseases.

Poisonous, environmentally harmful weeds sprout in fields and pastures that animals won't even try to eat. In addition to these plants, there are also weeds. An example is oats in wheat.

Classification of weeds by habitat

According to the habitat, two types of weeds are distinguished: sowing and garbage. The latter have a variable composition, it varies depending on the soil-climatic zones. These weeds are typical of yards, parks, highways and dirt roads.

Next, consider the classification of weeds. They are divided into:

1. Field, whose representatives are mint, larkspur and others.
2. Garden, such as, for example, thistle.
3. Garden - garden spurge or quinoa.
4. Marsh, for example marsh watercress.
5. Meadow such as geranium or horsetail.

There are also long-term weeds that have learned to germinate in the fields, in places where certain cultivated plants accumulate, which means that they have become their integral "partners". They are also called specialized, or special.

Next, we list some weeds for several plants.

• Flax - linen camelina, linen dodder, linen mountaineer.
• Spring wheat - Persian chaff, wild hemp.
• Winter rust - rye and field fire,broom.
• Oats - sandy oats.
• Sowing buckwheat - Tatar buckwheat, wild radish.
• Millet - gray and green foxtail.
• Lentils - flat seed vetch.

Thus, we can conclude that the very name assigned to these plants indicates their extremely narrow specialization.

Classification by life cycle

If we consider weeds by the duration of their life cycle, then they are all divided into those that live long or short. Juveniles, if considered according to the characteristics of development, growth and ability to reproduce, are further subdivided into other biotypes, or, in other words, biological types.

Classification of juveniles

Classification of young weeds is as follows:

1) Annuals - those that need one growing season for development:

• spring - in turn, are divided into early ones that appear in spring, summer and autumn;
• winterers - are forced to winter in exactly the phase in which they remained when winter arrived.

2) Those that need two growing seasons to develop:

• winter;
• two-year-olds - those who need a mandatory long period in the first year of their life.

Classification of perennials

Considering perennials, it is worth pointing out that they need three or more growing seasons. And among them the following biotypes stand out:

• rhizome,
• root shoots,
• bulbous,
• tuberous,
• creeping,
• brush root.

Also among weeds there are parasites, which are classified according to the way they maintain life and he alth with the help of food. There are non-parasitic (their development does not depend on the surrounding herbs and plants, because they have an independent type of nutrition), semi-parasitic (capable of photosynthesis, however, they often feed on other plants) and actually parasitic weeds (they feed exclusively through another plant).

Main biological features

They are:

1. Increased fertility. For example, take winter rye. In one sowing, it is able to form 100-120 grains, and fiber flax - 60-100 seeds. And for contrast, let's put the rye bonfire plant as an example, which gives up to 1420 seeds. The difference is noticeable, isn't it?
2. Fruits and seeds are able to travel long distances thanks to special devices such as curls, clothespins or flyers.
3. Able to maintain their viability in the soil for a long time. It really surprises - from five years to 80, while ordinary plants quickly lose their viability and die.
4. Different ecological regimes do not affect their development.
5. The parasitic lifestyle of some weeds keeps them from dying off too early.
6. Capable of vegetative reproduction.
7. There is a wide variety of their life forms.
8. Seeds retain their viability even after passing through the intestines of animals, grinding and so on.
9. Grow well in the light.
10. Many species have seeds of different quality (for example, large, flat, etc.).
11. Seeds do not germinate at the same time.

So, we have considered the classification and biological characteristics of weeds. Now let's learn about the main methods of dealing with them.

Weed Control Methods

In order to reduce the likelihood of weeds, you should follow some rules for caring for your garden and lawn.

Lawn

First, don't cut the grass too short. Watering is also required during the dry period, because in case of dryness, weeds will certainly appear. To prevent the growth of creeping weeds, you should clean the lawn with a rake. Be sure to fertilize it! If you spot a weed, pluck it immediately, otherwise it can quickly take root.

Garden and vegetable garden

The compost pit is the best place for weeds to be removed. It is necessary to allocate a special area for it in order to put harmful plants there during the season.

It is also obligatory to dig up the entire garden after harvest, i.e. autumn. Thus, a large number of weed roots will appear on the surface, which will freeze perfectly during the winter. And in early spring, you should re-dig the garden and remove all the roots of these plants to the maximum.

Control methods depend on the type of weedplants, their biological characteristics and, in fact, where they grow.

Let's consider further the classification of weed control measures.

Classification of the main methods of weed control

The classification of weeds is based on two features: according to the type of grass and the means for its destruction.

According to the first sign, an agrotechnical method of struggle is distinguished. Classification of weed control methods:

• Warning. It includes cleaning seed materials from weed seeds getting into them, timely harvesting, etc.
• Fighter. Aimed at the destruction of seed and vegetative primordia in the soil.
• Quarantine. It is associated with quarantine weeds that do not grow in the area, but can be imported from outside.

Classification of weed control methods according to the second attribute: mechanical, physical, chemical, phytocenotic, biological, ecological, complex and organizational means.