Weeds,
the plants out of their proper place, have been known to cause many damages andlosses to crops and some are also known to cause health hazards. A number of
management strategies for weeds are also adopted. But there are some uses of
these weeds.
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| Latana camara inflorescence |
Here are the highlights of some of the many advantages of these
unwanted plants.
1.
Use in Human Food
Some
of the weeds are used as vegetables such as Bathu (باتھو) (Chinopodium album) is cooked
with sarsoon in Pakistan. Similarly other weeds includes Amaranthus viridis and
Digeria arvensis.
2.
Use as Fodder
Many
weeds are used as fodder for milch animals and other domesticated animals. Common
weeds used as fodder are Convolvulus arvensis (field bind weed), Clitoria ternatea are good fodders for animals.
3.
Use as green manure
Most
of the times field is irrigated for preparation and weeds are allowed to grown
in the fields, and when the weeds appear, they are ploughed down. This not only
culminates the weeds but also add the organic matter to the soil. Some of the
leguminous weeds have high nitrogen contents which are very helpful in this regard.
For example, Datura sp. contains 3% nitrogen on dry weight basis. Calotropis gigantea,
Tephrosia purprea and Croton sparsiflorus make excellent green manure for rice
fields.
4.
Use in medicine
Weeds
are perhaps the oldest medicines available and many records exists predating to
ancient history which tells about the use of weeds for making extracts for
different diseases in ancient Chinese, Muslim and Arab civilization. The
practice of traditional medicine is still bases on weeds.
5.
Helpful against Soil Erosion
Weeds
and specially grasses are good soil binders in the fallow land. Panicum repens
is a common weed grass and it binds the soil with its dense root system. Similarly,
Pennisetum clandestinum and Cenchrus sp. are also effective against soil
erosion.
6.
Use as Fuel
One
example of use as fuel is the use of Prosopis juliflora which is a tree weed. People
use it as fire wood.
7.
Use in making Mats and Screens
The
stems of some weeds are also used in making mats and screens (پردے اور چٹائیاں). Cyperus
corymbosus and Cyperus pangorei stems are used for mats and Typha angustata
stems are used for screens.
8.
Indicators of Soil nutrients
Different
types of weeds are present under specific soil conditions. Echinochloa colona grows in nutrient rich soils, Cymbopogon sp. grows in light soil and
sedges are present in soils with drainage problems.
9.
Other economic uses
•
Useful in production of fragrance e.g., Cyperus rotundus
•
Aromatic oils are extracted from Cymbopogon citratus (Citronella oil) and Cymbopogon
martinii (Palmrosa) are used for manufacturing aromatic oil.
•
Argemone mexicana is used in reclaimation of alkaline soils.
•
Weeds growing in bushy habit are used for fencing purposes.
•
Lantana camara is has beautiful inflorescence and it is plant now for
landscaping.
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