Weed Survey on Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) in Dongola Locality, Northern State, Sudan

Abstract

A weed survey was carried out in seven hamlets in Dongola Locality namely: Elseir, Elmasakeen, Um Elgura, Hamid Narti, Selaim basin, Sheikh Shareef and Maragha during the winter season of 2008/2009 to determine the most common and prevalent weed species associated with faba bean (Vicia faba L.) cultivation. A stratified random sampling procedure was adopted, whereby each hamlet was divided into fields of which 10 were randomly selected. Number of individual weed species was determined in 10 quadrates each 1 m2. The field density, frequency, uniformity, relative density, relative frequency, relative uniformity and relative abundance of the species were determined. Data revealed the presence of 36 species of annual and perennial weeds belonging to 20 families. The highest number of species occurred in Elmasakeen and Sheikh Shareef whilst the lowest was recorded in Selaim basin. Cynodon dactylon, Malva palviflora, Sinapis arvensis, Sorghum arundinaceum, Convolvulus arvensis, Trigonella hamosa, Chenopodium album and Cyperus rotundus were the weeds that occurred at high relative abundance. Species with moderate relative abundance included Chenopodium murale, Datura stramonium, Gynandropsis gynandra, Eruca sativa, Sonchus oleraceus and Amaranthus graecizans. The species Echium rauwolfii, Sinapis alba and Dicanthium annulatum occurred in few hamlets and exhibited low to very low relative abundance.