Factors affecting the development of populations of Oxalis pes-caprae L.

As the control of Oxalis pes-caprae L. is dependent upon treatment after the parent bulb has become exhausted and before the new bulbs have formed, experiments were conducted to test the uniformity of development of plants and to determine if adequate control could be expected from a single herbicide application. Inherent differences were observed in the time of emergence, and further differences could be induced by increasing the depth of planting or withholding water. Competition between plants was shown to retard the development of late-emerging plants. The physical removal of parts of the plant before bulb exhaustion had limited effect on bulb production, but reduced bulb weights and numbers when carried out after bulb exhaustion. Although not all parts of the plant were replaced by regrowth, no major changes in overall development were noted.