Echinochloa crus-galliLatin nameEchinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv FamilyPoaceae Common nameCommon barnyardgrass SynonymsPanicum crus-galli L. (basionym), Panicum hispidulum Retz., Milium crus-galli (L.) Moench, Pennisetum crus-galli (L.) Baung Geographical distributionAsia: China, Japan, and Korea. South and Southeast Asia: India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Rest of the world: widespread in Africa, Europe, and America. MorphologyAnnual, erect, tufted or reclining at base; up to 200 cm tall. Stem: culms rooting at lower nodes, cylindrical, without hairs, and filled with white spongy pith. Leaf: linear with a broad round base and narrow top; blade 10−40 cm long; ligule absent. Inflorescence: loose green to purplish, 10−25 cm long comprising compound racemes; spikelets more or less elliptical and pointed, usually slightly hairy; awns, if present, green to purplish, 2−5 mm long. Biology and ecologyThe common barnyard gas ropagates by seed. It flowers throughout the year and can produce seeds within 60 days. Echinochloa crus-galli prefers moist to wet land; easily grows in direct-seeded rice fields and wastelands. It is a common weed in swamps and aquatic places. Agricultural importanceIt is a serious serious weed of lowland rice due to its rapid growth, competitive ability, and capacity to multiply rapidly. The young shoots are eaten in Java and it is used for reclaiming saline lands in Egypt. The weed serves as feed for animals in grasslands and wastelands. ManagementCultural control: Thorough land preparation for rice under wet or dry conditions can reduce infestations.It is difficult to distinguish the weed seedlings from rice at early stages, which makes hand weeding difficult. Biological control: the fungal pathogen Exserohilum monoceras shown to control this weed. Chemical control: Oxadiazon, pretilachlor, pendimethalin or cyhalofop, thiobencarb, butachlor, and propanil mixtures with quinclorac or fenoxaprop. Selected references
JLA Catindig, RT Lubigan, and D Johnson |