Weed flora in irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) intercropped with olive trees (Olea europaea L.) along the Moulouya wadi, eastern Morocco
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: A study of the weed flora was conducted in 22 irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa) fields along the Moulouya wadi (eastern Morocco, arid bioclimate), during the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. This study aims to inventory weed taxa and assess their cover, in order to evaluate the extent to which weeds are a problem for alfalfa cultivation. Fields were surveyed once in October 2021 or April 2022, with complementary collects from 2022 to 2023, to identify taxa which were not at the right phenological stage during our visits. Field sizes varied from 500 to 12,400 m². No herbicides were used in any field, and alfalfa and weeds were cut for hay. Sixteen other crops were cultivated with alfalfa, the latter intercropped mostly with olive trees which were present in 77% of the fields. A total of 205 weed taxa that belong to 39 plant families were recorded. The weed flora was dominated by broad-leaved weeds, representing (158 taxa, 77% of weeds). The annual weeds represented 110 taxa (54%). The number of weed taxa per field varied from 19 to 61, with an average of 41. Weeds that had the highest cover (between 5 and 25%) include Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa colona, Plantago lagopus, Setaria adhaerens, and Setaria pumila. Weeds poisonous to livestock were Datura stramonium (38% of fields), Euphorbia helioscopia (14%), Peganum harmala (32%), Solanum elaeagnifolium (9%), Solanum villosum (38%), and Sorghum halepense (41%), with a low cover (up to 5%). Weed cover was in general <10% which suggested that weed management through cutting weedy alfalfa successfully kept weed biomass low while fostering biodiversity.
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Life on land
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7142883914
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