Germination Ecology of African Lovegrass ( Eragrostis curvula ) and Herbicide Options for Its Control

Oyebanji O. Alagbo and Bhagirath Singh Chauhan ()
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Oyebanji O. Alagbo: Department of Crop Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Nigeria
Bhagirath Singh Chauhan: Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation and School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-13

Abstract: African lovegrass ( Eragrostis curvula ) is one of the invasive perennial grasses that continues to disturb natural ecosystems globally. Experiments were conducted in southeast Queensland, Australia, to evaluate the effects of temperature, salt stress, water stress, burial depth, and sorghum crop residue load on the emergence and efficacy of postemergence herbicides on two populations (Clifton and Crows Nest) of E. curvula . The optimal germination temperature regimes for E. curvula were 30/20 and 35/25 °C, but seeds did not germinate at temperatures commonly occurring in the Queensland winter (15/5 °C). Total darkness inhibited germination by 79%, indicating that the shade cover effect would reduce germination of E. curvula . The Clifton population tolerated a higher concentration of sodium chloride (160 mM) and osmotic potential (−0.8 MPa). Under both salt and water stress, germination was 31% and 20% greater in the Clifton population than in Crows Nest, respectively, suggesting that the Clifton population is more tolerant to salt and drought stress. The maximum germination was obtained for the surface seeds while emergence declined with increased burial depth up to 4 cm. No seedlings emerged from the 8 cm depth. The addition of sorghum residue amounts up to 8 Mg ha −1 to the soil surface inhibited emergence compared to the no-residue treatment, suggesting that retention of heavy cereal residue will further delay or restrict emergence. Several postemergence herbicides were found to be effective in controlling E. curvula at an early stage. Information from this study will further compliment earlier studies on the targeted management of E. curvula populations.

Keywords: water stress; salt stress; temperature; burial depth; crop residue; post emergence herbicide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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