The document provides a comprehensive guide on identifying common weeds associated with kharif crops, including their classification based on life cycle, seed characteristics, and morphological traits. It discusses the various types of weeds—annual, biennial, and perennial—and categorizes them into monocots and dicots for effective weed management. Additionally, specific examples of weeds, along with their growth habits and habitats, are detailed to aid students in practical identification during agronomy studies.

1. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 1 of 20
Practical
Identification of Common Weeds of Kharif crops
Objective:
 To demonstrate the different principles to identify important weeds.
 To identify common weeds growing in the kharif crops
Material required: Paper sheet and pen to note down the instructions, hand lens
Procedure/Methodology
There should be some criteria on which one can identify the weeds grows with the field
crops or elsewhere. It is important to know the season in which the weed is growing, its life
cycle, morphology etc. Keeping these criteria in mind, the weed plant can be classified as:
1. Based on life cycle: The knowledge of spectrum of life cycle of weeds is of immense use
towards recommending their control measures. On the basis of life cycle, the weeds have been
classified as annual, biennial and perennial weeds.
(i)Annual weeds: Annual weeds are plants that usually germinate, grow and produce seeds
within a season/year and then die-up. They are well adapted to succeed in highly unstable and
unpredictable environments brought about by frequent tillage, drought, or other disturbance.
Annual weeds also produce an abundance of seed since it is the sole source of survival. Most
annual weed seeds will remain viable in the soil for one to seven years. They are further divided
into two groups based on their occurrence in different season.
(a)Summer/Monsoon(Kharif) annuals: Those weeds which complete their life cycle in warm
season (June to October), e.g. Echinochloa colonum, Trianthema monogyna, Ammania
baccifera, Cyperus difformis, Fimbristylis miliacea, Celosia argentea, Euphorbia hirta, etc.
(b)Winter (Rabi) annuals : Those weeds which are prevalent in winter season and complete
their life cycle during cool-dry season (October-November to February-March), e.g. Phalaris
minor, Chenopodium album, Anagallis arvensis, Asphodelus tenuifolius, Vicia sativa etc.
(ii)Biennial Weeds : Biennial weeds complete their life cycle in two seasons/years and normally
live more than one but less than two seasons/years. Biennials reproduce from seed only;
however, they overwinter by means of a taproot system. They form rosette and remain vegetative
in the first season/year and produce flowers and set seeds in the second season/year. These weeds
are difficult to control by removing aerial parts as the roots have the tendency to regenerate.
Some biennial weeds are Daucus carota (wild carrot), Tribulus terrestris (puncture vine),
Cichorium intybus (chicory),etc.
(iii) Perennial Weeds : Weeds, which live for more than two years before they wither away or
die-up, are perennial weeds. Usually perennials do not produce seed in the year of establishment.
Most perennials reproduce by seed and many are able to spread by vegetative means. Generally
the control of perennial weeds is more difficult than the control of annual weeds. They should be
controlled in fallow or lean season with deep summer tillage combined with suitable systemic
herbicide which can translocate all through the plant system and reach quickly to the under-
ground penetrating structure.

2. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 2 of 20
Perennial weeds possess many of the characteristics of annual weeds: competitiveness,
seed dormancy, and long-lived seed. Perennial weeds propagate by seeds or vegetatively usually
they are propagating by rhizome, stolons, bulbs, tubers, stems roots, suckers etc. The penetrating
parts such as stolons, bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes allow the parent plants to regenerate if
damaged and to produce new plants from the parent plant without seed. Additionally, these parts
serve as food storage units that also enhance survival. They are of three types :
(a)Simple perennials: Simple perennials are plants which reproduce almost solely by seed;
however, they can produce new plants from cut pieces of vegetative parts. Simple perennials
have no special means of reproduction (rhizomes or stolons). The taproots of these plants may
become quite large and and are usually fleshy. Simple perennials are Ipomea carnea and
Lantana camara etc.
(b)Bulbous perennials: Bulbous perennials are plants which reproduce by bulbs, bulblets, and
seed. Wild garlic produces aerial bulblets as the main means of reproduction, and also produces
underground secondary bulbs.
(c)Creeping perennials: Creeping perennials are plants which spread by means of specialized
modified above-ground stems (stolons) or below-ground stems (rhizomes), as well as seed.They
reproduce by seeds as well as with one of the following
(i) Rhizome: Plants having underground stem – Sorghum halapense
(ii)Stolon: Plants having horizontal creeping stem above the ground – Cynodon dactylon.Stolons
and rhizomes produce vegetative buds which develop into independent plants. This group of
plants is most difficult to control because of the diverse mechanisms for survival.
(iii)Roots: Plants having enlarged root system with numerous buds – Convolvulus arvensis
(iv)Tubers: Plants having modified rhizomes adapted for storage of food – Cyperus rotundus.
2. According to Seed Characteristics/Plant Morphology
Classifying weeds as monocots versus dicots, or grassy weeds versus broad-leaves is very
important for weed management. Based on seed characteristics/plant morphology, weeds have
been classified in to two groups:
A. Monocotyledones/ Monocot weeds : The Monocots include the grasses (Family Gramineae),
sedges (Family Cyperaceae), lillies (Family Liliaceae), cattails (Family Typhaceae).Many people
will collectively refer to these 'Monocots' as "grassy" or "grass-like weeds" because of their leaf
shape and form.
Characteristics of monocots
 Embryo with a single cotyledon.
 Early leaves always alternate.
 Leaves mostly parallel-veined.
 Flower parts in threes or sixes, never in fives.
 Vascular cambium absent.
 Scattered primary vascular bundles in the stem.
(i) Grasses : Grass seedlings have only one leaf as they emerge from the seed. Their leaves are
generally narrow and upright with parallel veins. Most grasses have fibrous root systems. The
growing point on seedling grasses is sheathed and located below the soil surface. Some grass
species are annuals; others are perennials. The major grass weeds are Phalaris minor, Cynodon
dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis, Polypogon monspeliensis, Avena fatua/ludovicianas,
Commelina sp, etc.

3. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 3 of 20
(ii) Sedges: Sedges are similar to grasses except that they have triangular stems and three rows
of leaves. They are often listed under grasses on the pesticide label. Most sedges are found in wet
places, but principal pest species are found in
fertile, well drained soils. Examples are
Cyperus spp, Fimbristylis miliacea, etc.
B. Dicotyledones/dicot weeds : Dicotyledones
have seeds, which can be splitted into two
halves and may be annual, biennial or
perennial. The majority weeds have broad and
often toothed or divided leaves with netted
venation. They have distinct petioles and blades
and may be arranged in basal rosettes or along
the stem singly, in pairs or rarely in whorls. For example, Amaranthus viridis, Chenopodium
album, Solanum nigrum, Digera arvensis, Tribulus terestris, Melilotus indica, Argemone
mexicana, Parthenium hysterophorus etc.
The dicot weeds are often referred to as broadleaf weeds. . Broadleaf seedlings have two
“seed leaves” as they emerge from the cotyledons or soil. Their leaves are generally broad with
net like veins. Broadleaves usually have a taproot and a relatively coarse root system.
Broadleaves contain species with annual, biennial, and perennial life cycles. Not all plants that
have broad leaves are dicots.
Characteristics of Dicots:
 Embryo with a pair
of opposite
cotyledons.
 Leaves usually net
veined.
 Flower parts mostly
in fours and fives.
 Vascular cambium
generally present.
 Primary vascular
bundles in a ring.
Weed scientists
commonly speak
of broadleaf and narrow
leaf or grass weeds, which
correspond approximately to the Dicot and Monocot subclasses, respectively. This is a useful
characterization, not only in chemical weed control (grasses and broadleaf species have different
sensitivities to different chemical herbicides), but also in mechanical and cultural weed
management. Grasses and broadleaf weeds respond differently to cultivation, mulching, cover
crops, and other practices. Therefore, understanding the difference between narrow leaf
(monocots) and broad leaf (dicots) is important when selecting a pesticide as part of an
integrated pest management program.

4. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 4 of 20
Identification of Important Kharif season weeds
1.Abutilon indicum
Syn.: Sida indica, S. asiatica
Family:Malvaceae
Common Names: Indian mallow/Atibala/ Kanghi
Growth habit and Habitat: It is a perennial herb or
undershrub, 0.5 to 2 m tall. Flowers arise singly in leaf
axils, orange-yellow with purple center. Stem, leaf-stalks
and flowers-stalks are sticky velvety and hairy. Leaf
blades are 4-18 cm long and broad, densely hairy on both
sides, usually broadly ovate, heart-shaped at base,
coarsely toothed. Widespread in India on waste lands,
roadsides and crop land. Propagated by seeds. Stem used
for fibre and for ropes. Leaves used as tonic.
2.Acalypha indica L.
Family:Euphorbiaceae
Common Names: Indian Nettle, Indian copperleaf,
khokli, Kuppi
Growth habit and Habitat: Erect, annual herb, up to 70
cm tall, stem striate, pubescent, with many spreading or
ascending branches. Flowers are sessile, greenish, borne
on numerous, lax, erect axillary spikes. Found on crop
fields, wastelands, gardens, roadsides in shady places.
3.Acanthospermum hispidum
Family:Asteraceae
Common Names: Bristly Star-burr/goat head
Growth habit and Habitat: It is an erect or occasionally
low growing annual stiffly hairy herbaceous plant
growing 15-100 cm tall. Its leaves are stalkless, covered
in stiff hairs and borne in pairs along the stems.
Yellowish green flowers are borne in the forks of the
leaves near the top of the plant. Its fruits develop into 5-
10 spiny wedge shaped seeds and form a distinctive star-
shaped burr. Grows on medium black, light and sandy
loam soil .Propagated by seeds.

5. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 5 of 20
4.Achyranthes aspera
Family: Amaranthaceae
Common Names: Prickly chaff flower/
Apamarg /Latjira Chirchita
Growth habit and Habitat: An erect annual
herb grow up to 1-1.5 m in height. Stems are
simple, angular, branched from the base, often
with a purple color, pubescent. Flowers
greenish white, numerous in terminal spikes
long up to 75 cm, Seeds are cylindrical, ,
reddish brown in color. Grows on sandy loam
soil, way side and waste land. Propagated by
seeds. It has medicinal value.
5.Amaranthus virdis
Family:Amaranthacea
Common Names: Green amaranth/ Pig
weed/Jangli chulai
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual, dicot
weed. World’s 14th
worst weed. dense spikes
of minute flowers, tiny seeds, simple leaves,
and sometimes a distinct reddish coloration of
the taproot and lower stem. A single mature
plant can shed 100,000 to 1 million viable
seeds. Grows with upland crops of kharif, rabi
and summer season. Propagated by seeds.
Used as leafy vegetable. Fed to cattle.
6.Amaranthus spinosus
Family: Amaranthacea
Common Names: Katemath/kanta choulai
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb,
erect or slightly decumbent. Stem stout,
sometimes reddish, usually branched, angular,
glabrous with long multicellular flocculent
hairs. Leaves glabrous or thinly pilose on the
lower surface. Flowers green, in the lower part
of the plant in axillary clusters broad leaf, all
season weed. Grows on waste land and
cultivated fields. Propagated by seeds.

6. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 6 of 20
7.Bidens pilosa
Family:Asteraceae
Common Names: Beggar Tick/Spanish
needle/Kumra/Kureri
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual forb of
slender habit, growing up to 1.8 m tall. The
leaves are oppositely arranged and pinnate.
Flowers as small heads on long stalks. The
heads bear white ray florets, surrounding many
tubular yellow disc florets. The fruits form star-
shaped spherical burrs. Found in waste land,
cultivated field and garden. Propagated by seeds.
Young leaves and shoots are eaten as vegetable.
8.Cassia tora
Family: Caesalpiniaceae
Common Names : Sickle Senna/ Chakuda
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual erect shrub
grows 1 m tall with hairless branches has a
disagreeable smell. Compound leaves with 3
pairs of leaflets. 1-3 short flowers appear on
short axillary stems. The linear pods grow to 20
cm long, curve downward and contain many
shiny brown seeds. Grows on cultivated fields,
waste land and roadside. Propagated by seeds.
Seeds used as Coffee. Leafy vegetable. Good
cattle feed.
9.Celome viscose
Family: Capparaceae
Common Names: Asian spider flower/ Tick
weed/ Hulhul
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb up to
a meter high. Whole plant viscous with stalked
glandular hairs. Leaves 3-5 foliate. Leaflets are
obovate, variable in size. Racemes terminal, lax,
few-flowered, Flowers yellow, orange yellow or
cream white.Fruit siliqua, cylindrical, erect or
slightly curved. Seeds reddish brown to black.
Kharif crops and found more frequently in sandy
loam soils.

7. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 7 of 20
10.Celosia argentea
Family:Amaranthaceae
Common Names: Silver Cockscomb/ Safed
Murg/Mayur sikha
Growth habit and Habitat: It is an erect,annual
broad leaf plants, 60-70 cm tall with narrow-
elliptic or lance-shaped, strongly veined leave
and hundreds of tiny flowers in dense spikes of
silver-white flowers above the foliage. Pink or
rose flower heads. Grows with upland crops,
paddy fields and waste land. Propagated by
seeds.
11.Convolvulus arvensis
Family:Convolvulaceae
Common Names: Field bindweed/Wild
morning glory/Hirankhuri
Growth habit and Habitat: Dicot, perennial.
Showy, funnel-or tube-shaped flowers, simple
alternate leaves, and climbing vine like habit of
growth. World’s 12th
most damaging weed.
Grows with Kharif crops and found more
frequently in sandy loam soils
12.Commelina benghalensis
Family:Commelinaceae
Common Names: Bengal day flower/ Kena/
Kankawa
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual diffuse
herb, rooting at lower nodes. Leaves are ovate,
base rounded, or flat, tip blunt, velvet hairy.
Spathe funnel-shaped, flat at apex, velvet-hairy.
Flower petals are blue. Grows with all kharif
crops on sandy loam, loamy and black soils.
Grows by seeds. Good fodder for cattle.

8. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 8 of 20
13.Corchorus acutangulus
Syn.: Corchorus aestuans
Family: Malvaceae
Common Names: East Indian Mallow/ Chench
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual, spreading
herbs; stems pilose, often reddish. Leaves, ovate
to elliptic-lanceolate, base rounded, margins
serrate. Flowers 2-3 in leaf opposed, shortly
pedunculate pedicels. Yellow flower.Seed
numerous, dark brown.
Annual kharif season weed of sandy loam,
loamy and black soils. Grows by seeds. Good
fodder for cattle
15.Cynodon dactylon
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Bermuda grass/ couch grass/
Doob ghaas.
Growth habit and Habitat: Perennial creeping
grass, mat forming, stem prostate, produces
tillers between 25-30, culm grows to 25 cm tall.
Leaves short, narrow, flat, ligule very short with
white hairs.Inflorescence composed of racemes
4-6, digitate, unilateral. Reproduced by
rhizomes, stolons and seeds. Second most
important weed of croplands and non-croplands.
Useful medicinal grass.
16.Cyperus difformis
Family:Cyperaceae
Common Names: Small flowered
nutsedge/Small flowered umbrella sedge.
Growth habit and Habitat: Erect, mostly
annual sedge with smooth, triangular, slightly
winged stems. roots are numerous, fibrous and
reddish in colour. Inflorescence several dense,
umbrella-like heads, purplish-brown. Fruit
brownish nut. Serious weed of rice and
sugarcane fields. Prefer submersed habitat of
silty and clayey soils.

9. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 9 of 20
17.Cyperus iria
Family:Cyperaceae
Common Names: Rice Flat sedge/ Umbrella
sedge/ Morphula.
Growth habit and Habitat: Tufted annual herb
or occasionally perennial, with fibrous roots,
yellowish red roots. Stem sharply 3
angled,tufted, smooth,5-80 cm high. Leaf sheath
reddish or purplish brown enveloping the stem
at base. Inflorescence umbrella-like head,
golden to yellowish-green. Fruits shinny, dark
brown to black nut with 3 sides. Spread by
seed.Major weed of rice and other crops.
18.Cyperus rotundus
Family:Cyperaceae
Common Names: Purple nut sedge/ Nagar
motha.
Growth habit and Habitat: Perennial
weed.World’s worst weed. All crops are
affected. Allelopathic against many crops and
can form an underground biomass density of
rhizomes, bulbs, and tubers. Essential oils is
extracted. Medicinal use. Agarbattis are
prepared from tubers.
19.Dactyloctenium aegyptium
(Syn.Eleusine aegyptica)
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Egyptian crowfoot grass/
Duck grass/Makra.
Growth habit and Habitat: It is a slender to
moderately robust, spreading annual herm, with
wiry stems, that bend and root at the lower
nodes.Leaf blades and stems are smooth and
hairless. Stems typically bend upward at the first
node. Flowers arise in 1-7 spikes at the tip of the
stem. Seedhead resembles a crow's foot.Major
weed in loam and sandy loam soils of rainfed
and irrigated areas. All crops are affected except
rice.

10. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 10 of 20
20.Digera muricata
(Syn.D. arvensis)
Family:Amaranthaceae
Common Names: False amaranth/ Lahsuva/
Chanchali
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb with
erect or spreading branches, up to 50 cm tall;
leaves alternate, broadly ovate to lanceolate, up
to 8 cm long, glabrous or hairy on veins below;
flowers pink or rose-coloured, in 3-flowered
clusters in lax axillary spikes, turning greenish
white in fruit.Found in pulses, maize, cotton,
sugarcane and in vegetables.Used as cattle feed.
21.Digitaria sanguinalis
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Large crab grass/Hairy
crabgrass
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual, long
sprawling stems. Many soft stems grow close to
the ground often produce roots at the nodes.
Stems are green to purple. Leaf blades hairy
above and below, reddish with age, rolled in
bud, ligule membranous, hairy. Seed head is
formed by 3-13 spikes. Weed of cultivated
fields. Propagated by seeds. Good fodder for
cattle.
22.Echinochloa colona
Family: Poaceae
Common Names: Jungle rice/shama millet/
little barnyard grass.
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual grass with
culms risisng prostrate 10-100 cm tall. Leaf
sheaths are hairless on surface. Ligule are
absent. Flower racemes are borne along a central
axis. Spikelets occur in pairs or clustered at each
node. Fertile spikelets are stalkless. It is the
major weed of rice, cotton, maize, vegetables,
pulses and fodder crops. Seeds are eaten ass rice.

11. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 11 of 20
23.Echinochloa crus-galli
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Barnyard grass/Sanwa
Growth habit and Habitat: It is a clump-
forming, tall, robust annual grass growing to
60-120 cm. (Taller than E.colona). Fibrous root
but no rhizome. Inflorescence is 5-25 cm long,
erect, densely flowered and hairy. Drooping
panicle purplish in colour. Spikelets are awned
or awn less. Seeds are brown. Most widespread
mimic weed of rice worldwide. Also found in
wetlands/cultivated fields. Tolerate high pH.
Propagated by seeds. Seed cooked used as a
millet. Plant accumulate high level of nitrate in
its tissues which is toxic to animals.
24.Eclipta alba
Family: Asteraceae
Common Names: False Daisy/ Bhangra/
Bhringraj.
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb.
Stems are erect or prostate, velvety, often
rooting at nodes. Short, flat or round brown
stem. Leaves are lance-shaped or elliptic.
Small white daisy-like flowers on a long stalk..
It is one onf the Hindu’s ten auspicious
flowers. Weed of rice, pulses, sugarcane and
jute. Used in hair oil and other medicinal
purpose.
25.Euphorbia hirta
Family:Euphorbiaceae
Common Names: Red spurge/asthma
weed/milk weed/laal dudhi.
Growth habit and Habitat: Erect or prostrate
annual herb can grow up to 60 cm tall with a solid,
hairy stem that produces an abundant white latex.
The leaves are simple, elliptical, hairy on both
sides with finely dentate margin. Leaves occur in
opposite pairs on stem. Flowers are unisexual and
found in axillary cymes at each leaf node. White or
brown tap root. Found in cultivated fields,
grasslands, roadsides, gardens, lawns, fallow
lands. Useful medicinal plant.

12. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 12 of 20
26.Fimbristylis dichotoma
Family:Cyperaceae
Common Names: Common fringe sedge
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual or
perennial with a short rhizome, 7-50 cm tall.
Stem compressed, glabrous or with scattered
hairs. Inflorescence consists of 3-4 umbellate
clusters of spikes on a peduncle. Flowers
spirally arranged. Glumes glabrous, brownish.
Nutlets pale to dark brown or grayish. Found in
rice fields, grassland, river bank. Fed to animals.
27.Heliotropium indicum
Family:Boraginaceae
Common Names: Indian heliotrope/ devil
weed/Hanthisunda
Growth habit and Habitat: Erect, branched,
pubescent dicot herb. Leaves simple, opposite,
broadly ovate. Flowers sessile, in leaf-opposed
curved, blue to purple. The petals or the sepals
are fused into a cup or tube. Found in sandy and
loam soils mostly in pulses, rice fields and
vegetables. Fast growing..
28.Imperita cylindrica
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Cogon grass/Thatch grass/
Darbha/Daab
Growth habit and Habitat: It is a long lived
(perennial) grass spread by creeping rhizomes
grows from o.6-3 m tall. The flowering head has
many white silky hairs. Reproduced by seeds
and rhizomes. Stems are used as thatch, ropes
and its fibres are used to make paper. Ranks 7th
world’s worst weed. Found in banks of
watercourse, field bunds and non-crop
lands. Imperata cylindrica ‘Rubra, red-tipped
ornamental cultivar.

13. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 13 of 20
29.Leptochloa chinensis
Family:Poaceae
Common Names: Lamb grass/Kallar ghass
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual, tufted
smooth grass grows 75-100 cm tall. It has a
slender, hollow, erect, hairless stem.
Inflorescence elliptic to oblong, brush-like, often
purplish, 20-30 cm long. Problem weed of rice
and also grows with sugarcane, fodder, maize,
cotton and vegetables especially in the
waterlogged and salt affected area.
30.Leucas aspera
Family: Lamiaceae
Common Names: Chhota Halkusa/ Guma/
Dronapushpi
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb, erect,
diffuse, hairy with much branched stem 15-45
cm tall. Flowers are bell shaped, white in dense
axillary whorls. Weed of groundnut, sugarcane,
cotton, fallow and waste land . Propagated by
seeds. Fed to the cattle and has medicinal
properties.
31.Ludwigia hyssopifolia
Family: Onagraceae
Common Names: Water primrose
Growth habit and Habitat: An erect annual
herb , 15-150 cm tall, stem green or purplish,
and with white spongy pneumatophores arising
from submerged roots.The lance-shape leaves
are glossy with prominent secondary veins. The
yellow flowers are 4-petaled borne singly in leaf
axils.Fruits finely hairy, cylindrical capsule.
Usually grows in marshy places, waterlogged
areas, drains, dictches and low land rice fields.

14. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 14 of 20
32.Marsilia minuta
Family:Marsiliaceae
Common Names: Water clover/paper wort/
Choupatti
Growth habit and Habitat: It is perennial but
sometimes appears annual.In the water the plant
is creeping and spreading, while on land it can
appear cushion-like. It has a light brown to green
rhizome, thick with short tan hairs at the ends
and intermodal roots. The leaves on land are
erect, terete, long petioles. The leaves in water
are not floating but emergent. Grows in ditches,
ponds and puddle rice fields.
33.Oxalis corniculata
Family: Oxalidaceae
Common Names: Creeping Wood Sorrel/
Khatti booti/Amrul/Changeri
Growth habit and Habitat: Small rhizomatous
perennial dicot weed with yellow flower.
Branching from the base and often rooted at the
nodes. Single long stalk arises from leaf axils
from which extend 3 yellow flower stalk, each
with single flower. Leaves are arranged
alternately along stems. Fruit is capsule. Found
in watercourse and moist shady places. Leaf
have an acidic taste. The plant is used to treat
many diseases.
34.Parthenium hysterophorus
Family: Asteraceae (Compositae)
Common Names: Ragweed/Congress grass/
Gajar ghass
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual or short-
lived perennial, aggressive herb grows up to 2 m
height. Mature stems are greenish,
longitudinally grooved, covered with small stiff
hairs and become much branched at flowering.
weed of wastelands, roadsides and non-
croplands. It has gigantic allelopathic potential,
grows faster than crop plants.

15. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 15 of 20
35.Physalis minima
Family: Solanaceae
Common Names: Wild goose berry/Rashbhari
Growth habit and Habitat: A small, erect or
somewhat prostrate, much branched annual
herb, grows up to 50 cm. Flowers solitary light
Yellow. Fruit (berries) encapsulated in papery
cover which turns straw brown when ripe.
Weed of cotton, maize,sugarcane, vegetable,
oilseeds and also found on field bunds,
roadsides. Medicinal plant. Fruits are edible.
36.Phyllanthus niruri
Family:Euphorbiaceae
Common Names: Black catnip/Carry me seed/
Hurricane weed/Bhui amla/Hazar dana
Growth habit and Habitat: It is an erect,
annual herb growing to 10-50 cm height.
Flower s are of small size and greenish. flowers
and fruits at the base of branches. Troublesome
weed of pulses, oilseeds, cereals and sugarcane.
Propagated by seeds. Widely used as a
medicinal plant. Black dye is obtained from the
stem and leaves.
37.Portulaca oleracea
Family: Portulacaceae
Common Names: Common pursulane/Little
Hogweed/Lunia
Growth habit and Habitat: It is an annual
succulent, frequently branching at the base and
forming a spreading mat up to 15 cm tall and up
to 60 cm diameter. Stems are round, thick,
fleshy and light green to reddish brown in
colour. Leaves are fleshy, oval to spoon shaped,
shiny green, sometimes becoming reddish-
purple in bright sunlight. Flowers are yellow,
open singly at the center of leaf cluster. Seeds
are formed in a tiny pod. Weed of cotton,
maize, pulses, vegetables, sugarcane, etc.
Prefers sandy, well-drained soil

16. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 16 of 20
38.Sorghum halepense
Common Names: Jhonson grass/
Family: Poaceae
Growth habit and Habitat: Perennial grass.
Slender plant, with numerous erect stems up to
2 m high, arising from extensive, purple-spotted
scaly, creeping rhizomes. The leaves are
narrow, alternate and are 30-60 cm long with
hairs at the base of the upper surface. At the
base of the leaf blade prominent membranous
ligule with hairs. Pale green to purplish, many
branched inflorescence. Grows on agricultural
land, roadsides, disturbed and wet area.
39.Saccharum spontaneum
Family: Poaceae
Common Names: Kans grass/kaans
Growth habit and Habitat: Perennial grass,
growing up to 3 meters in height with spreading
rhizomatous roots. Leaves are harsh and linear.
Inflorescence are plumose panicles which are
white and erect.weed grows in canal banks,
field bunds, waste land. Propagated
vegetatively/roots/seeds. The reeds are made
into mats, screens and thatch roofs.
40.Setaria glauca
Syn.:Setaria virdis
Family: Poaceae
Common Names: Green foxtail/ Green bristle
grass/Banara-banari
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual grass that
branches at the base to form a small tuft of leafy
culms.Leaves are light to medium dull green
and hairless.At the junction of each blade and
sheath, the ligule is defined by a ring of white
hairs. Each culm terminates in a spike-like
panicle of florets about 5-10 cm long. season
weed of rice, sorghum and maize fields.
Propagated by seeds.

17. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 17 of 20
41.Solanum xanthocarpum
Family:Solanacea
Common Names: Thorny Nightshade/ Thai
egg plant/Kateli/Oot Kateli/Kantkari
Growth habit and Habitat: Kharif and rabi
(perennial) weed. Erect or creeping herb woody
at base, 50-70 cm tall, armed with sturdy,
needle like prickles. Flowers blue-purple. Fruit
with prickles and sparse stellate hairs. Berry
green and pale yellow when ripe. grows road
side, waste land. Medicinal use in tooth ache
and cough.
42.Sonchus asper
Family: Asteraceae
Common Names: Spiny sowthistle/Dudhi
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual or biennial
herb grows to a height of 100 cm with spiny
leaves. Leaves are bluish-green, simple covered
in spines on both margins and beneath. The base
of the leaf surrounds the stem. Plant produces
several flat-topped arrays of flower heads with
numerous yellow ray flowers but no disc
flowers. The leaves and stems emit a milky sap
when cut. Grows roadsides, cultivated and
fallow grounds. Spread by seeds equipped with a
small parachute of hairs. Plant extract is applied
to fresh injuries.
43.Striga Lutea
Syn.Striga asiatica
Family: Orobanchaceae
Common Names: Witch weedTovati agia
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual erect herb.
Root parasitic weed It parasitizes sorghum,
maize, millets,rice, legumes and sugarcane. It
has bright-green stems and leaves.Flowers are
brilliant scarlet and sometimes red, yellow or
white in colour. Propagated by seeds. Each plant
produce 90000-500000 seeds which remain
viable for 10 years.

18. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 18 of 20
44.Trianthema monogyna
Syn.:Trianthema portulacastrum L.
Family:Aizoaceae
Common Names: Horse purslane; Shwet
Punarnava
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual, succulent,
prostrate or ascending herb, much branched
growing up to 60 cm tall with a firm
taproot.Small flower of white colour.
Weed found in cultivated fields of maize and
millets. Propagated by seeds. Eaten as pot herb.
45.Tribulus terrestis
Family:Zygophyllaceae
Common Names: Puncture vine/ Caltrop/ Goat
head/Gokharu/Bahukanta
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual prostrate,
forming flat patches, grow upwards in shade.
Leaves ar pinnately compound. Flower are
lemon-yellow colour. Seeds are hard bear two
sharpt spines. Nulets resemble goat heads.
Grows throughout year in cultivated fields and
on bunds. Propagated by seeds. Used as tonic.
46.Tridex procumbens
Family: Asteraceae
Common Names: Coat Buttons, Mexican
Daisy, Ghamra, Ekpushpi
Growth habit and Habitat: A spreading annual
or perennial hairy herb grows up to 20 cm in
height. Leaves simple, opposite, serrate, acute,
fleshi and pubescent. Flowers in heads, long
stalked daisy like yellow-centered white or
yellow with three-toothed ray. Found in
cultivated fields, along roadsides, hedges.

19. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 19 of 20
47.Vernonia cinerea
Syn.:Conyza cinerea
Family:Asteraceae
Common Names: Purple fleabane/Little
ironweed/Sahadevi
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual or short-
lived perennial grows 50 sm tall with ovate
leaves. Purple flower. Found in upland crop
fields, waste land and roadsides. Propagated by
seeds. Seeds are used to treat cough, flatulence,
leucoderma and other skin diseases.
48.Xanthium strumarium
Family:Asteraceae
Common Names: Common Cockulbur
weed/Chhota gokharu/ Ghaghara/
Sankhahuli/Sarpakshi
Growth habit and Habitat: Annual herb with a
short,stout, hairy stem. Plant has large and broad
leaves, light and bright green colour in alternate
pattern.Stem turn maroon to black when mature.
Fruit is obovoid having two beaks and hooked
bristles.found on road side, waste land, bunds,
riverbed. Propagated by seeds. Medicinal use as
laxative, improves appetite. Seeds used for
cooling effect.

20. Agronomy Practical on Identification of Weeds of Kharif Crops: Presented by
Dr.G.S.Tomar, Professor (Agronomy), CARS, Mahasamund (C.G.) for B.Sc.Ag.Students
Page 20 of 20
Activity-1
Identification of Weeds associated with Rice and Soybean and recording
observations
Requirement: Fresh samples of weeds
Proceducre: Collect different weeds present in rice and soybean field. Observe different parts of
the weed plant and record the observations in the data sheet on different characters such as
habitat (crop in which growing/ waste land/road side) root system (tap or fibrous), stem
(herbaceous, woody), morphology (narrow leaf/broad leaved/sedge), flower colour, seed shape
and colour, etc.Based on these, identify the most prominent character along with local and
botanical name of the weed.
S.
No
.
Local
name
Botanica
l name
Habitat Root
system
Stem Life
cycle
Morphology Flower
/ seed
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Conclusions: