Weed flora in the Rift Valley sugarcane [Saccharum officinarum] plantations of Ethiopia as influenced by soil types and agronomic practises

A survey was carried out on 72 sugarcane fields in Wonji-Shoa and Methara sugarcane plantations in the Rift Valley, Ethiopia, to determine the composition and distribution of weeds and to assess the influence of soil types and crop management practices on weed species composition and distribution. A total of 180 weed taxa belonging to 40 families was recorded. Poaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, and Malvaceae were the most abundant families based on the number of species recorded. Annuals were more common (137 taxa) than perennials (43 taxa). The most frequent and problematic weed species in the plantations, irrespective of the soil types and crop types, were Cyperus spp., Sorghum spp., Euphorbia hirta, Ipomoea cordofana, Rhynchosia malacophylla, Datura stramonium, Launaea cornuta, Portulaca oleracea, and Amaranthus spp., with a frequency of 65%. Perennial, rhizomatous Cyperus spp. were more dominant in ratoon crops than in plant crops. A partial canonical correspondence analysis (pCCA) showed that soil types, fertilizer application, and crop cycles were the major factors influencing the species distribution in the plantations among all the variables considered in the study. The first pCCA axis structured weed species associated with light-textured soil in contrast to weeds on heavy soil. D. stramonium, Tagetes minuta, and Galinsoga parviflora were mostly associated with light-textured soil, while Xanthium strumarium, Hibiscus trionum, Vigna fischeri, and Ipomoea eriocarpa were mostly associated with heavy-textured soils. The second axis distinguished those species associated with fields receiving fertilizers versus those that were not fertilized. Rottboellia cochinchinensis and Phyllanthus tenellus were mainly associated with fertilized fields while E. hirta and L. cornuta were common on unfertilized fields.