Competitiveness of windmill grass (Chloris truncata) and feathertop Rhodes grass (Chloris virgata) in mungbean (Vigna radiata)

Abstract

Windmill grass (Chloris truncata R.Br.) and feathertop Rhodes grass (Chloris virgata Sw.) are two weeds of the northern region of Australia that are rapidly expanding in range, being favoured by conservation agricultural systems and prevailing weed management using a narrow pool of herbicides. Information on competitiveness and seed-production dynamics of these weeds is lacking for mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), a major summer crop in the region. Field studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of different densities of these weed species on crop yield of mungbean in the 2016–17 (2016) and 2017–18 (2017) seasons. Windmill grass reduced mungbean yields by 56% with 39 weed plants m–2 in 2016 and 55% with 47 weed plants m–2 in 2017. Windmill grass produced a maximum of 98708 seeds m–2 in 2016 and 118613 seeds m–2 in 2017, and there was 15–21% seed dispersal at crop harvest. Competition from feathertop Rhodes grass resulted in yield losses of 73% with 49 weed plants m–2 and 65% with 45 weed plants m–2. Feathertop Rhodes grass produced a maximum of 229514 seeds m–2 in 2016 and 367190 seeds m–2 in 2017, and seed dispersal at crop harvest was only 3–7%. Competition from both weed species resulted in a significant reduction in number of pods per m2, grains per pod and 1000-grain weight of mungbean. These results show that windmill grass and feathertop Rhodes are highly competitive against mungbean, and their timely management is crucial for minimising yield loss. Although both weeds produced a substantial number of seeds, seed dispersal at crop harvest was low, especially for feathertop Rhodes grass. The high weed-seed retention relative to maturity of mungbean may help in managing these problematic weeds through various means including weed-seed capturing and destruction