CORRELATION OF SOIL PROPERTIES WITH WEED OCCURRENCE IN SUGARCANE FIELDS

Abstract

The study was established on three sugarcane growing fields with known cropping history, located in the southern Guinea savanna ecological zone (Latitude 90 29' N and Longitude 40 35' E) of Nigeria during the 2012/2013 and 2014 growing seasons to determine the relationship between weed seedling emergence and soil properties. Soil seedbank was sampled from sugarcane fields to a depth of 0-10cm, 11-20cm, 21-30cm and was estimated using the direct seedling germination method, and the emerged weed seedlings were monitored over a period of 8 months concurrently with a floristic survey conducted on same fields. Data collected on weed seedling emergence were transformed and subjected to analysis of variance, regression and correlation analyses. The results of the study demonstrated that soil properties exert significant influence on the occurrence and distribution of specific weed species in the sugarcane cultivated fields and there was a strong positive correlation (r=0.86, p≤0.003) between seedling emergence in the seedbank and field emergence. Paspalum scrobiculatum, dominant weed species, correlated positively with soil particle sizes and all the chemical properties except Na, K and acidity. This implies that predictable estimate of the sugarcane fields’ weed flora can be made from the soil seedbank and soil properties, with such information; it would be possible to schedule a more appropriate weed management strategy.