Timing of seedling emergence and reproduction in some tropical dicotyledonous weeds

The periodicities of seedling emergence of seventeen dicotyledonous weeds were determined and fourteen of these examined in detail. In addition, the periodicity of vegetative growth and reproductive development was recorded for all dicotyledonous species in the study area. Field emergence at monthly intervals during one year was compared with the emergence of seedlings from soil transferred to a shade house and kept moist. This comparison suggested that lack of water during the dry season was the dominant factor controlling germination, although several species failed to germinate when given adequate water under shade-house conditions indicating that innate or induced dormancy also occurred. Species were separated into two groups based on the liming and duration of their main phenological stages. The first group contained species which had individuals present throughout the year while plants in the second group died during the dry season and reappeared at the start of the wet season. Most species in the former had some individuals flowering or shedding seed all year round while the latter had a short period of vegetative growth followed by prolonged reproduction. The possibility of using emergence and phenological data for improving tropical weed control is discussed.