WEEDS

            What is a weed? It is the first and foremost question that we usually hear when we talk about weeds. Honestly before, I really don’t care about weeds, I was just contented for what I have knowledge that weeds are “damo” in Tagalog which are the most competitor of our plants. But now being an agriculture student and future agriculturist, I have understand and bear in my mind that I must learn and understand more about weeds because these are parts of the agriculturist everyday life. In general, weeds adversely affect the use of economic value and aesthetic aspect of the land and waters that infest. Anderson, W.P. (1977)

            Weeds are controversial plants that are neither bad nor good depending on one’s outlook. In short, weeds have advantages and disadvantages that effects on human affairs. About weeds advantages, first is that they can be useful for herbal plants, they provide the physician and veterinarian with patients afflicted with allergies, dermatitis and poisoning resulting from exposure to pollen and irritating or poisonous chemicals that they produce. Next is that they serves as our vegetables in which some of the weeds can be cook to provide as our foods. They can also help us to prevent or reduce winds and soil erosion. They can also help us for landscaping and beautification of our surroundings in such that many weeds can be enjoyed for their showy flowers and seedpods. They can also provide foods and shelter for ruminants animals or foods for birds, rabbits and other wildlife. And last but not the least, weeds provide employment for local and transient labor hired to control and remove them. Next is all about weeds disadvantages, of course the first is that they act as a competitor in our crops for sunlight, water, nutrients, and space. Since both crops and weeds are plants, they have basically the same requirements for growth and development, in short they require an adequate supply of the same nutrients, water, sunlight and space. But when two or more plants are growing together in close proximity to one another, their roots intermingle from branching and rebranching as they penetrate the soil, and their foliar canopies tend to overshadow one another, with the taller, denser canopies providing the most shade. In such plant community, competition exists between the plants for the essentials of growth and development whether they are of the same species or of a mixture of species. Anderson, W.P. (1977). Next is that, weeds act as a host plant for pests and diseases which move on to parasitize nearby crop and ornamental plants. They can also act as an additional increase of expenses with relation in time, money and labor. And also because of weeds, the quality of our crops product will goes down, including the quantity. They can also affects on human’s health in relation on production of toxic of irritant chemicals that inflict health problems on both man and animals.

Weeds are familiar plants of our environment which are seen consciously and unconsciously, infesting lawns, sidewalks, roadsides, fencerows, ditches, and ditch banks, ponds, waterways, gardens, croplands, rangelands and forests. These are familiar objects but they are not easy to define. Some plants are readily recognized as weeds because of their undesirableness. However, other plants are not so readily accepted as weeds, it depends entirely on how the plants affect the interest of an individual or community as to whether or not they are categorized as weeds.